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With two types of similar-sounding antiviral medication used to treat Covid-19 – Favipiravir and Molnupiravir – you may wonder what the difference is between the two and which is more suitable for certain symptoms.

Here the Medical Services Department explains:

Favipiravir

This was the first Covid-19 drug in Thailand. It selectively inhibits viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

According to the latest information, patients who have taken this antiviral medication get better when compared to those who did not. Precisely 86.9 per cent of those given the drug got better after 14 days.

It can be given to children or adult patients who have mild or moderate symptoms. People in risk groups such as those with obesity or underlying diseases, or pregnant women during a certain period can take the drug.

Adults need to take 1,600 milligrammes and reduce this to 600mg on the second to fifth day.

The price of each treatment is 800 baht.

Molnupiravir

Molnupiravir has a similar mechanism to Favipiravir and was approved by the Emergency Operations Centre, Public Health Ministry and the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

This medication should be given to patients with risk factors with mild or moderate symptoms.

Adult patients should consume 800mg capsules – four every 12 hours for five days.

Each treatment costs 10,000 baht.

According to the guidelines, patients are given different medication depending on the severity of the disease and risk factors.

Patients with no symptoms

They are treated as outpatients or at home. The doctor will not provide any antiviral medicine as these patients can recover without the drugs over time.

Patients with mild symptoms without pneumonia or risk factors

This group might be given Favipiravir if Covid is found quickly.

Those who have been infected for more than five days and have mild or no symptoms might not need to get this antiviral medication.

Patients with mild symptoms but have risk factors or mild to moderate pneumonia

The risk factors are:

1. 60 years or older
2. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Grade 2 or higher), including other chronic lung diseases
3. Chronic kidney disease (stage 3 or later)
4. Cardiovascular diseases (NYHA functional class 2 or higher) or Congenital Heart Disease
5. Stroke
6. Uncontrolled diabetes
7. Obesity (90kg or higher / BMI 230kg/m2)
8. Cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class B or higher)
9. Immunosuppression (receiving chemotherapy, immunosuppressants or corticosteroid equivalent to prednisolone of less than 15mg/day for more than 15 days)
10. HIV patients who have a CD4 cell count of fewer than 200 cells/mm3.

Patients should be given one type of medication within five days after being infected for better recovery.

Meanwhile, patients with no risk factors can be given Favipiravir. But if they have one of the factors mentioned above, they should be administered Favipiravir, Remdesivir or Molnupiravir or Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir.

Patients who have more than two risk factors must be given Remdesivir, Molnupiravir, or Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir.

Patients with severe pneumonia (resting O, saturation < 94%)

They must be given Remdesivir for five to ten days according to their symptoms.

Published : July 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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Covid-19 cases in Thailand have risen due to the faster-spreading Omicron BA.5 subvariant and the lifting of the face mask requirement in public, Chalermchai Boonyaleephan, Public Health Commission vice-chairman, said on Wednesday.

He said Covid-19 patients who developed lung inflammation and used respirators have increased to 727 and 318, respectively, up 20.7 per cent and 13.5 per cent compared to 602 and 280 on June 23 after Thailand lifted the face mask requirement.

He added that daily Covid fatalities have increased from 18 to 22, up 22 per cent.

Covid-19 restrictions should be eased to stimulate the economy and enable people to live as normal a life as possible, but the face mask mandate and booster vaccination drive should be retained to prevent an impact on economy and society, Chalermchai advised.

He said Omicron BA.5 is now the world’s dominant strain, which is spreading 35 per cent faster than BA.2.

Chalermchai pointed out that many countries are at risk of Covid-19 spreading due to an easing in restrictions, including doing away with the face mask mandate in public.

“In fact, economy and society can move on even with the face mask requirement,” he added.

Published : July 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/life/40017451

Laboratory tests on 13 people suspected to have monkeypox show none are infected, while there are three people who have come into contact with patients, the Department of Disease Control said on Wednesday.

“The three who came into contact with monkeypox patients have not developed any symptoms,” department director-general Opas Karnkawinpong said.

“Meanwhile, laboratory tests on 13 suspected patients indicate they don’t have monkeypox but have the herpes simplex virus,” he said.

Opas said 6,178 monkey pox patients have been found in 56 countries as of Sunday (July 3). He added that the top five countries with highest number of monkeypox patients are Spain (1,196), Britain (1,185), Germany (1,054), France (498) and the US (459).

“More than 99 per cent of monkeypox patients are men,” he said.

Opas said the severity of the virus in Europe is low as only 10 per cent of patients were hospitalised. He also pointed out that monkeypox can be transmitted among humans by coming into close contact.

“Monkeypox patients will develop a fever, headache, muscle pain, back pain, swollen lymph nodes and fatigue,” he explained.

Patients develop a rash on their arms and legs 1-3 days after being infected, which will form blisters and then crusts.

“Patients will have symptoms for about 2-4 weeks,” he said, adding that most recover on their own.

Opas advised people to avoid crowded places, regularly clean surfaces and objects that are frequently touched, wear face masks, wash one’s hands regularly, avoid sharing personal belongings and consume only cooked food.

“Anyone who develops monkeypox symptoms can take a test at a hospital closest to their home,” he suggested.

The Public Health Ministry is ready to tackle monkeypox as the Department of Medical Sciences can conduct a RT-PCR test for the disease and get a result in 24 hours, he added.

For more information, contact the Department of Disease Control via hotline 1422.

Published : July 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/life/40017406

Students will become Covid-19 spreaders after the opening of the new semester, causing the disease to spread further, expert virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan said on Wednesday.

He said even though infected students develop mild symptoms, they can spread the virus to other students, as well as family members and the elderly.

“Similar to other respiratory diseases such as flu, Covid-19 will spread quickly during the opening of the new semester or rainy season, causing more students to be infected and spread the virus,” he predicted.

The mortality rate among healthy students aged 3 or above is 1 in 10,000 and most fatalities have underlying diseases, Yong said, adding that children aged 2 or below are vulnerable to Covid-19.

He pointed out that Covid prevention measures are important to contain the spread of the virus in schools, such as washing one’s hands regularly, avoiding eating with others, wearing face masks and maintaining a social distance.

Yong said Singapore had placed priority on education as no schools were closed, while students were allowed to attend classes after recovering from Covid-19. Everyone in Singapore strictly adheres to Covid prevention measures, he added.

“Everyone must accept the truth and promote education to move on,” Yong advised.

He asked related agencies to focus on improving prevention measures in schools rather than closing them.

Published : July 06, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/life/40017384

Three Covid-19 jabs may be enough to prevent severe symptoms from the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, a virologist said.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Dr Anan Jongkaewwattana shared lab results comparing the immunity three samples had against the two subvariants. The three samples cited were:

• Sample L: Two AstraZeneca jabs and a third jab of Pfizer vaccine received in April. Never contracted Covid-19.
• Sample P: Two AstraZeneca jabs and a third jab of Moderna vaccine received in March. The sample had been infected by the BA.2 subvariant earlier.
• Sample A: Two AstraZeneca jabs and a third jab of Pfizer. The sample was infected by the BA.2 subvariant after Songkran.

According to test results, Sample L had developed around 100 units of immunity against BA.2 but had lower immunity against BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. However, Anan said, this may be enough to prevent severe symptoms.

The immunity levels of Sample P and Sample A came in at more than 2,100 and 3,700 units, respectively, and slightly lower against BA.4 and BA.5.

However, Anan said this experiment was too limited and had been conducted to test vaccine formulas in Thailand.

He said wanted to share this information informally to encourage people to get their booster shots, because BA.4 and BA.5 have been found to evade immunity. He added that immunity built from jabs or infection over three to four months should help prevent severe symptoms.

Published : July 05, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/life/40017354

People should strictly adhere to Covid-19 prevention measures as current vaccines cannot protect against getting infected, Vichaiyut Hospital respiratory specialist Dr Manoon Leechawengongs said on Monday.

In his Facebook post, Manoon pointed out that most Covid-19 patients during this wave have been fully vaccinated with three Pfizer jabs or two AstraZeneca and two mRNA boosters.

“This proves that the current Covid-19 strain is spreading quickly and is able to evade the immunity built by vaccines compared to previous strains,” he said.

However, he said fully vaccinated people developed mild symptoms and were able to recover on their own without suffering long-Covid symptoms.

Long Covid is a condition where some people infected with Covid-19 experience lingering symptoms for many weeks or even months after they begin to recover.

Manoon advised people to strictly adhere to Covid-19 prevention measures, as current vaccines cannot protect them from infection. In particular, he urged people to continue wearing a face mask.

He pointed out that Covid-19 patients who don’t wear a face mask have a 70 per cent chance of infecting people who wear a face mask, but it will reduce to 1.5 per cent if both parties wear face mask.

“It is necessary for everyone to wear a face mask while staying in crowded places or poor air-ventilated areas,” he said.

He also hoped that the new generation of Covid-19 vaccine will be able to protect people from Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

Earlier, expert virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan expected the number of Covid-19 infections to increase before declining in August, as the Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become Thailand’s dominant strain.

He also advised people to receive at least three Covid-19 vaccine jabs as well as booster shots periodically.

Thailand recorded 1,995 Covid-19 cases and 18 deaths on Monday.

Published : July 04, 2022

By : THE NATION