Covid-19 infections are expected in order to level off by mid-October, says Yong Poovorawan, chief of the Centre of Quality in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn College.
In a post yesterday in the Facebook page, Doctor Yong played throughout the scale of the current outbreak, although he or she acknowledged the exact amount of infections was unidentified as many with slight symptoms would not report to a doctor.
Reports say PURSE. 4 and PURSE. 5 are the state’s dominant sub-variants, said the doctor, with infections having been on the rise since January before peaking during the current rainy season, consistent with the particular pattern of escalating respiratory diseases surrounding this time of year.
From July 31 to Aug 6, there were 33, 679 new Covid-19 cases daily on average, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
“However, that number should drop from the middle of October, ” Dr Yong said.
“No matter how many jabs people had and whatever the types of vaccine, individuals are not immune in order to contracting the virus.
“But the particular vaccine can reduce the severity of the illness, ” Dr Yong said, adding the best immunity is derived from being both infected and vaccinated.
As the vaccine is expensive and provides mainly to the unique strain of Covid-19, where possible, booster shots may be held off until next year when new, cheaper alternatives become available, he said.
He said it may be time to deploy the information cultivated from dealing with the pandemic to find out new, more budget-friendly ways to fight the condition.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered law enforcement agencies to behave swiftly against people who produce and claim fake ATK test kits, following a latest seizure of counterfeits worth more than two million baht within Nonthaburi and Nakhon Pathom.