Health authorities in Thailand have started to provide another round of COVID-19 boosters, this time as single jabs for the entire year, as new cases continue to rise after the Songkran holidays.
According to the National Communicable Disease Committee, any COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration can be used as an annual shot, with the number of doses a person has already received no longer taken into consideration.
Health authorities are encouraging the elderly, people with underlying health conditions, and children under 5 years old to get their annual boosters, as well as people who work in crowded conditions or are required to interact with many people, and medical and public health workers.
The committee also recommends that the COVID-19 vaccine can be delivered alongside a flu shot in a single visit, by administering each vaccine into different arms. The two vaccines, if administered on different dates, can be given without the requirement to delay a subsequent shot by any specific amount of days.
This recommendation is made as Thailand will soon enter the rainy season, which is considered a flu season in the country, while new cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise since the Songkran holidays. The vaccines are now available through many hospitals and clinics across the country.
The Ministry of Public Health reported a total of 1,811 new COVID-19 cases on 23-29 April 2023, including 157 patients developing lung infections, 79 patients requiring manual ventilation, and 10 deaths. The latest figure was higher than the previous two weeks, where the case number grew from 435 cases on 9-15 April, to 1,088 cases on 16-22 April, to the latest figure of 1,811 cases. (NNT)
