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Covid-19 fatalities are on a downward slide and most of those who succumbed had either not been vaccinated or not received enough jabs, the Public Health Ministry said.

Dr Chakkarat Pittayawong-anont, director of the Department of Disease Control’s epidemiology division, said on Monday that fewer patients are requiring ventilators and that the daily rate of new cases has dropped below the 10,000 mark for two days running.

On Tuesday, 9,721 Covid-19 new cases and 77 deaths were reported, the fewest in 24 hours since March 26.

Dr Chakkarat said the rate of deaths over the past two weeks came in at 0.14 per cent of total cases. He also said the ministry now only reports patients who were killed directly by the virus. This is because the Omicron variant is different from the Delta variant.

Delta patients normally developed severe symptoms, so most people with chronic diseases succumbed to the virus. However, he said, the Omicron variant is less severe, so it is important to specify if a patient has been killed by the virus or by complications from their chronic ailment.

For instance, he said, 90 per cent of the 84 Covid-19 deaths on Monday were caused because the patients had either not received a vaccine, had received just one dose or received a booster more than three months ago.

He said vaccines are necessary to reduce the severity of the disease, as a fully vaccinated person reduces the chance of death from Covid-19 by five times. Those who have received the third shot reduce their risk of dying by 31 times.

According to government figures, 81 per cent of the population has received their first shot, 73.8 per cent their second shot, but only 37.4 per cent have received their third jab. Hence, he said, people should get their boosters because there are plenty of doses available.

He also bemoaned the fact that only 41.5 per cent of the elderly population, who are most at risk, have received their third shot. The aim was to get at least 60 per cent of the elderly given their third shot.

The doctor also advised parents to have their children aged five to 11 vaccinated against Covid-19 before schools reopen later this month. More than 2 million children in Thailand are still unvaccinated.

Chakkarat said that though plenty of hospital beds are available, that should not be the focus as nothing is more important than getting vaccinated. Getting jabbed against Covid can prevent severe symptoms and hospitalisation, he reiterated.

He also pointed out that the Covid-19 alert is still at Level 4, so large gatherings should be avoided as much as possible.

Chakkarat added that the rate of infections in the Northeast is on the rise and that the ministry will monitor the situation more closely. He said close monitoring brought down infections in the South after they were surging for two months.

He also said that Thailand is entering a period of transition as the number of new cases generally drops in May or June in most provinces.

Chakkarat presented the facts at the last Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) meeting, which set the goal of declaring Covid-19 endemic by July. He said the endemic declaration should cover the entire nation because people travel between provinces.

He also said that the ministry is pushing to get as many people as possible vaccinated, especially since Thailand has now flung its doors open.

He said many Omicron patients may have mild or no symptoms, and may not report their infection. However, he said this group is not large enough to affect the reported number, which covers infections verified by RT-PCR tests.

Published : May 03, 2022

By : THE NATION