Time for young students to stop wearing face masks at school, top virologists says
SUNDAY, JANUARY 08, 2023
With the number of Covid-19 cases in Thailand falling, it is time for kindergarten and elementary school students to stop wearing face masks at schools, an eminent virologist said on Friday.
Dr Yong Poovorawan – who heads Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology – said removing face masks in classrooms will improve students’ ability to learn verbal and non-verbal communication.
Children need to learn how facial expressions convey emotions, he wrote on Facebook, adding that it was difficult for them to wear face masks properly.
Up to 80% of kindergarten and elementary school students in Thailand already have immunity to Covid-19 as a result of vaccination or previous exposure to the virus, and one-third of them never developed symptoms, Yong said, citing data from the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology.
“Although these children [remain] at risk of infection, they will not develop severe symptoms,” Yong added.
As the number of Covid-19 cases in Thailand declines, the number of children infected with the virus is falling, he said.
“If you consider both the advantages and disadvantages [of face masks], it is time for kindergarten and elementary students to stop wearing them at schools,” he said.
Still, Yong still advised that children wear face masks in poorly ventilated places, including on public transport, and in shopping malls and hospitals.
Omicron subvariant circulating in China already swept through Thailand: virologist
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
There is no need to fear that it is easier to contract Covid-19 from Chinese tourists than visitors from other countries, Chulalongkorn University’s top virologist said on Thursday.
Dr Yong Poovorawan said the main Covid-19 subvariant circulating in China, BA.5, had previously circulated in Thailand.
“Chinese tourists [infected with Covid-19] who visit Thailand will spread an Omicron suvariant that previously spread in Thailand,” he wrote on Facebook
Two subvariants of the virus – Omicron BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 – that are dominant in both the United States and Europe have not been found in Thailand yet, Yong said.
The dominant subvariant in Thailand now is BA.2.75, the virologist explained.
He also pointed out that Thailand, like many other countries, conducts genetic decoding of Covid-19 variants at a central data centre, allowing researchers to study mutations.
“Preventing the spread of Covid-19 by restricting Chinese tourists from visiting Thailand is not the way to curb the spread of the virus,” Yong said.
About 96% of Thailand’s population has immunity against Covid-19 from vaccines and/or infections, he said, adding that the majority of people in the country have immunity against Omicron.
“One-third of children in Thailand could be infected with Covid-19 and be asymptomatic,” he added.
The number of Covid-19 patients in Thailand is declining and this number will fall further in the hot season before rising again in June when the rainy season commences, Yong said.
He expects annual vaccination drives before the rainy season begins, especially among those most vulnerable to Coviod-19.
“Covid-19 will become a seasonal disease,” he said. Consequently, people have to pay attention to their health and follow Covid-19 prevention protocols.
Companies analyze employee sleep quality in efforts to improve productivity
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
An increasing number of companies are using sleep-related technologies to improve employees’ sleep quality by making the most of information technology.
Various companies in the IT and other industries have been increasing their promotion of employees’ healthcare, an indicator of corporate value. The issue of sleep length is attracting attention as a problem that can affect productivity inside companies.
Visualizing sleep data
Until December, Rakuten Group Inc. used Suimin Rally (sleep rally), a sleep improvement program provided by Tokyo-based startup NeuroSpace Co. The program aims to use sleep pattern data provided by a smartphone application to improve a person’s sleep quality. In October, Rakuten held a seminar on sleep improvement, which saw 600 employees participate remotely.
NeuroSpace was founded in 2013. Since then, the company has helped to improve sleep for over 20,000 people working at more than 100 companies, including major food companies and a major airline company. Participants in the NeuroSpace program apparently saw better concentration and time management skills, which led to improvements in their productivity.
“Employees’ sleep is a problem that needs to be worked on at companies and in society,” said Takanori Kobayashi, the president of the company.
The use of “Nen ni Ichidono Suimin Shindan Undo” (Once-a-year sleep check movement) is also increasing in various industries. This program is run by several companies, including Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare Co. and T&D Holdings Inc., the parent company of Daido Life Insurance Co. The program also uses a smartphone application to analyze employees’ sleep quality.
Bottom of the table
A growing number of companies are working to improve employees’ sleep quality because they regard it as essential for improving productivity.
According to a survey in 2021 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the average sleeping time in member countries was about eight hours and 30 minutes, whereas Japan was at the bottom of the table with an average of seven hours and 22 minutes. A US research institute has estimated that sleep deprivation causes an annual economic loss of ¥15 trillion.
Other research has shown that companies with higher profit margins have employees that sleep longer. Isamu Yamamoto, a Keio University professor specializing in labour economics, has conducted a survey on about 10,000 company employees and found that there was a difference of between 1.8 and 2.0 percentage points between the profit rate of companies in the top 20% for better sleep time, and that of companies in the bottom 20%.
Various industries involved
Companies from various industries are also joining forces to provide sleep technology.
In November last year, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp. started selling a sensor developed by Brain Sleep, a startup in Tokyo, to company employees and others. The device, the size of a ¥10 coin which can be worn on the elastic band of pajama pants, checks on sleep levels by measuring how often the wearer rolls over or snores during sleep.
Sleep hours and methods naturally vary from person to person.
“There are problems regarding how far companies can get involved in visualizing the sleep data of an individual,” Yamamoto said. “Sleep technologies are effective as an investment for improving productivity.”
Pichet Klunchun’s new work was both immersive and site-responsive, without claiming so.
It’s already 2023 and that means we’ve been living with the pandemic for three years now. While theatre and dance performances returned last year, slowly and carefully as most took place in small studios. Large venues and commercial theatre producers didn’t want to take any risk and neither did we audiences who became more selective in our choices and careful in our spending, given the current economy.
Immersive performances, or those that claim to be so, became popular and that’s probably because we all want new experiences, especially after spending much time in front of computer screens for two years and provided that we need to risk being in close proximity to those whose health records we don’t know of.
Last month when I first came across a news release about “Take a Walk” on Pichet Klunchun Dance Company, I didn’t know what to expect. Someone even asked on its Facebook page whether the published start time—3:30pm on Fridays and 8am on Saturdays and Sundays—was a typo. It’s actually not. I was especially attracted to the fact that it’d take place at Thonburirom Park which, living 30 kilometers away, I’d heard of yet never visited. Just like the fact that many of us had (re)discovered many places in our neighborhoods, cities and country during the pandemic, my partner and I arrived in the neighborhood near King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), and not far from the company’s studio and playhouse, a few hours early on the work’s first Friday afternoon to enjoy Khao Soi lunch at a local restaurant and coffee at a local café, both randomly suggested to us by internet algorithms. In other words, for this work that takes place at a specific place and time and in our presence, our new experience that we crave for started even before the work itself.
At the meeting point, the park’s flagpole, we’re given instructions. e.g. that the whole experience would last about 90 minutes and we could take a break from and rejoin it at any time etc., and asked to sign our names on two company members’ T-shirts. Shortly afterwards, the internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer showed up and started his, and our, “Take a Walk”, literally leading us on a walk around the shady and peaceful park. At the beginning, there were three of us— audiences, participants or walking partners, if you may—but a few dozens of steps in, a young woman in black attire decided to quit for an unknown reason. Two company members could be easily spotted with their computer notebooks showing either the time lapse or the distance we’d walked. Another two were following at a distance behind us, perhaps making sure that an overweight walker wouldn’t faint.
After two rounds, or a little over two kilometers, my partner and I decided to take turn for the remaining rounds. In fact, the fifth round included a break when the artist sat down under a tree and discussed this work with us. Among others, he revealed that this park was where he, and his company members, had been coming to do their morning exercises for the past 10 years, and for them walking was better for their health than running. He noted that the start time of “Take a Walk” was in consideration of the number of people in the park and the consequent available parking space. Also, music from a public radio channel was turned on from 4 to 5pm, which added to our experience. Pichet added that this was a chance for us taxpayers to monitor how our taxes had been spent on park maintenance. Seeing us off at the parking lot and seeing my physical condition at the time, the artist recommended a nearby seafood restaurant.
Having recently lost my mother from previously undiagnosed heart failure, I’ve paid more attention to my health and after “Take a Walk” manage to maintain my step count way above that of WHO standard for a few consecutive days. The whole experience also made me think of a junior friend who’s writing his PhD dissertation in London and known to his Thai peers there not only for his thoughtfulness but also 20,000-step routine which has been benefiting both his health and perspective on the city. A conceptual work in which each participant had a different experience, interpretation and takeaway from it, “Take a Walk” was both immersive and site-responsive—in this case, the artist carefully chose the site and the time and didn’t have any control over other factors, like the weather and others who’re walking and running in the park and their conversation we overheard. It’s very different from just sitting in a comfortable seat in a playhouse while enjoying a performance and understanding messages the artist wants to convey. After all, it’s perhaps the pandemic that makes us rethink and reconsider how we do things in life.
After Bangkok, the Silpathorn Award laureate took this unique work to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Nakhon Sawan. He said that he’d also stage it overseas when and where the company performs other works.
Next Wednesday (January 11) at 7pm, Pichet will join Janaprakal “Khru Chang” Chandruang, National Artist in Performing Arts, in an English-language online forum titled “Blurring Boundaries Between Tradition and Modernity: Practices of Contemporary Thai Performing Artists”, organized by the Hong Kong national section of International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC). Free registration is open now at https://www.iatc.com.hk/doc/107017
From January 27 to 29, Pichet Klunchun Dance Company’s “Evolution” is at Thammasat Playhouse, on the Rangsit campus in Pathumthani province. Tickets are Bt 400 (Bt 200 for students) and free for Thammasat University students and staff, now available at https://www.ticketmelon.com/tutheatre/evolution.
Vaccine-resistant strains in West and China threaten Thailand: virologist
MONDAY, JANUARY 02, 2023
Top virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan has urged the government to take action to defend Thailand against new Covid-19 variants spreading abroad. He spoke out after China announced it will lift travel restrictions next Monday, January 8, prompting concern among countries worldwide.
So far, Japan, India, Italy, Malaysia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the US have imposed tighter requirements including negative Covid tests on travellers from China, where infection rates are soaring. However, Thailand has not tightened rules for Chinese visitors, who were its biggest overseas market before the pandemic struck in 2020.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Yong said the severity of Covid-19 in Thailand had dropped over the past three years as people gained immunity via vaccination and infection.
However, new subvariants spreading in Europe, the US and China are more resistant to vaccines. Therefore, Thailand needed to know which Covid-19 variant is spreading in each country, Yong said.
While Omicron BA.2.75 is still dominant in Thailand, the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants spreading fast in the West have higher vaccine resistance, though they do not cause more severe symptoms than previous strains, he said.
Meanwhile, Omicron BF.7 and BA.5.2 subvariants found in China are spreading in Japan, said Yong, citing data from Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun published on December 26.
He said it would be impossible to prevent the spread of these new strains to Thailand unless all visitors were screened on arrival.
Instead, the best solution is to step up vaccination and hygiene guidelines and boost public awareness of the different strains and their dangers, Yong said.
Government agencies should also implement guidelines to address different Covid-19 species, their severity and their resistance to immunity, he added.
Canadian researchers unlock way to boost immunity against BQ.1.1
MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2022
Ramathibodi Hospital’s Centre for Medical Genomics has revealed a way of boosting immunity against the vaccine-resistant BQ.1.1 Covid-19 strain. Previously, vaccines were found to be four times weaker against BQ.1.1, which looks set to replace BA.2.75 as Thailand’s dominant strain.
However, research from Canada’s University of Montreal shows that a fourth shot of mRNA vaccine plus natural immunity from a recent infection boosts immunity against BQ.1.1.
Posting on Facebook, the centre explained that the Omicron variant has mutated since the end of 2021 to resist monoclonal antibodies and inactivated, viral-vector and mRNA vaccines.
Montreal University researcher Andres Finzi reported that those who have received three doses of mRNA vaccine, either Pfizer or Moderna, have weak immunity to newer strains of Omicron when compared to the Wuhan, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta strains.
However, the immune response to BQ.1.1 is raised significantly by three doses of mRNA vaccine plus natural immunity. People recently infected by Covid can achieve this level of immunity by getting either monovalent (first-phase Pfizer/Moderna) or bivalent (second-phase Pfizer/Moderna) as their fourth vaccine dose, Finzi said.
Finzi’s Montreal research team also expected the formula to work well against other new Omicron subvariants such as XBB.
The Ramathibodi Hospital centre explained that while second-phase mRNA vaccine may work less well against new subvariants, it is still a good choice for protection while newer vaccines are being developed.
It said people were still getting infected after receiving three vaccine doses. Hence, they should seek a fourth dose 4-6 months after their third shot, to boost immunity against the BQ.1.1 and XBB subvariants that are expected to spread quickly across Thailand in the next few weeks.
Covid pandemic shifted Thai public health system’s focus from other patients
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022
The Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the focus from people suffering from other diseases, Thailand’s top virologist pointed out.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Dr Yong Poovorawan said that more people suffering from other diseases have been dying because the public health system has been overburdened with Covid patients.
He said people with other conditions are unable to get proper diagnosis or treatment because they are having to stay home due to lockdown measures or the cancellation of outpatient services and surgeries.
Hence, he said, there have been more deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic than normal.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there have been 14.83 million more deaths from other conditions or 2.74 times more than the 5.42 million deaths from Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021.
However, Yong said, the WHO graph shows that deaths from chronic illnesses and Covid-19 in Thailand are far lower than in some countries in Europe and America. This, he said, reflects the strength of Thailand’s public health system and overall preparation for Covid-19.
Get your boosters! Old Covid-19 vaccines work just fine, says DDC
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2022
The Covid-19 vaccines currently available are good enough to boost people’s immunity, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) has said.
DDC director-general Dr Tares Krassanaiwiwong said on Friday that though the Covid-19 situation is easing in Thailand, there are still waves of infections.
So far, 95% of the Covid-related deaths fall in the 608 group, namely people aged 60 and above, those with chronic diseases, pregnant women and those over 90 kilos in weight, as well as the unvaccinated or those who did not receive a booster shot for more than three months.
Hence, the DDC’s sub-committee on promoting disease immunity on December 9 resolved to have targeted groups given a booster shot from the vaccines currently available instead of having them wait for the newer mRNA bivalent vaccines.
Tares said the mRNA monovalent vaccines are still effective against the current virus strain and will reduce the severity of symptoms.
He also rejected the study claiming that taking more than three booster shots will not improve immunity or prevent infection.
Citing figures in Thailand, he said taking a fourth jab cuts down the development of severe symptoms and deaths far better.
He also said most of the deaths from Covid were among the unvaccinated or those who had received a jab a long time ago.
Hence, Tares said, the Public Health Ministry’s aim is to provide booster shots to those who got their third dose more than four months ago.
Meanwhile, expert virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan talked about a study conducted in the US from September to November, in which an mRNA bivalent booster was administered to people who had received at least two doses of mRNA monovalent vaccines.
The study shows that the vaccine can reduce the rate of infection by 28 to 56%, while the immunity provided is no different than the monovalent vaccines.
He also cited the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s statement on October 17, which said that both the current and new mRNA vaccines can be used as a booster dose.
Yong added that everybody should get at least four vaccines to protect themselves, especially those in the at-risk group who had taken their last jab more than four months ago.
Dr Sophon Iamsirithaworn, DDC deputy director-general, said the currently available vaccines are efficient enough to prevent the disease and reduce the severity of symptoms much like newer vaccines.
The Public Health Ministry, meanwhile, is monitoring the situation and updating suggestions in line with the current situation.
He said once the research is complete, Thailand will be able to produce vaccines to use as booster doses.
It would reduce procurement costs and strengthen the public health system after the country spent around 80 billion baht on buying Covid-19 vaccines.
GPO managing director Withoon Danwiboon said, “If the research progress is in line with the schedule, [the vaccine] will be registered in the middle of 2023. We could produce the first batch of 5-10 million doses per year, which would be sufficient for domestic booster doses, but the number could be increased.”
Dr Kriangkrai Prasert, the head of the third phase of the study, said that the GPO would test the vaccine on 4,000 volunteers to check the safety and efficiency of immunity with blood tests after 14 days, three months, six months, and one year.
Tests will be conducted on those who receive two doses of the same vaccine and will be administered as a 10-microgramme booster dose with intramuscular injection.
Volunteers will get the vaccines from December 23 to 29, 2022, or January 5 to 11, 2023 at either Nakhon Phanom City Hall or the Na Kae district office.
The volunteers must be over 18 years old, be healthy without any symptoms from any underlying disease, should not have been infected with Covid-19 within three months, and been negative in an antigen test on vaccination day.
Omicron’s shorter incubation period makes it more infectious: virologist
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022
A top Thai virologist has warned that it may have become easier to contract Covid-19, now that the virus has a shorter incubation period.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Dr Yong Poovorawan explained that previously the virus’s incubation period was around five or six days.
However, he said, the Omicron variant takes only three days to incubate, which gives the immune system very little time to fight back.
Hence, he said, it is easier and quicker to get infected.
Dr Yong added that immunity provided by vaccines may not prevent infection, but can reduce the severity of the disease.
He believes 90% of Thais have built up their immunity either with vaccines or previous infections. However, he said, more than 70% of them may get infected again but with fewer symptoms.
He also said that eventually, people will have to live with the disease because it will become commonplace like influenza.
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