The first two Omicron dead cases in the country were elderly women with chronic diseases, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
CCSA spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangson said the first case was an 86-year-old woman of Songkhla province and the other was a native of Udon Thani aged 84. One was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and the other had not received a shot.
Both contracted COVID-19 from family members. Dr Apisamai warned households to protect vulnerable family members and bring them to receive the third and booster shots because, she said, COVID-19 could be fatal with elderly people with chronic diseases.
Dr Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said that all combinations of two vaccine shots, be they two shots of a single vaccine or different makes, effectively stimulated antibodies to cope with the Delta variant of COVID-19 but did not with the Omicron variant.
With Omicron, the levels of antibodies dropped by nearly half. It showed that Omicron well avoided vaccines. Therefore, people needed the third and booster shots to raise their antibodies to the level that could fight the disease and prevent severe illness and death, he said. (TNA)
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