BANGKOK, Feb 28 (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Thailand's top virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan has urged the government to accelerate vaccination of children to combat Thailand’s rising wave of Covid-19.
"Children can spread Covid-19 to family members even though most kids develop no or only mild symptoms after infection," Yong wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
“However, children have to study and go to school, especially small kids," he added.
Yong noted the virus was now spreading rapidly in Thailand but forecast that daily case numbers would begin falling in the middle of March after schools close for the summer break.
He said the respiratory disease had spread rapidly among children during the June -September and January-March semesters. However, he added that the infection rate had fallen during the second semester as vaccination of students got underway.
He urged the government to get children double-jabbed as quickly as possible before providing them with booster jabs during the next semester.
"Two Covid-19 vaccine jabs can protect children in the short term but their immunity will then decline," he said. "Hence, they need to receive the third jab for higher immunity in the long term."
Thailand's Public Health Ministry reported on Monday (February 28) that in the past 24 hours there are 22,311 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 136 of whom are foreign travellers.
Death toll increased by 42, while 17,470 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 668,492.
The country’s total caseload from Covid-19 stands at 2,891,927 – 2,655,349 of whom have recovered, 213,645 are still in hospitals and 22,933 have died. - The Nation Thailand/ANN
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