FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

More than 50% of Thais have Covid immunity after previous infection

More than 50% of Thais have Covid immunity after previous infection

Thailand’s Covid-19 situation is likely to improve as most of the population has immunity generated by vaccination and previous infection, a top virologist says.

Dr Yong Poovorawan cited a recent study showing that more than half of children aged 5-6 had already contracted Covid-19. Writing in a Facebook post on Saturday, Dr Yong reported that all the children were either asymptomatic or had only mild symptoms after catching Covid. The study was conducted by Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, which Yong heads.

Meanwhile, a separate study on the effectiveness of Covovax vaccine also showed that more than half of the 215 participants had been infected with Covid-19.

"This proves that most Thais have immunity against Covid-19 from both vaccination and infection," he said, adding that this hybrid immunity reduced the severity of Covid-19 infection.

However, Yong urged the government to vaccinate more people, especially those in vulnerable groups, as only 40 per cent of Thais had received their third jab.

As of September 4, the total number of Covid vaccine doses administered nationwide is 142.85 million. Of them, 57.27 million were first jabs, 53.74 million second jabs and 31.83 million third jabs.

On Monday, Thailand recorded 1,360 new Covid-19 cases and 22 deaths.

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