Can Thailand achieve COVID‐19 herd immunity?

Abstract

The COVID‐19 outbreak has had a great impact on the social, economic, and health systems of Thailand. A variety of measures to curb the spread of the disease were implemented since the beginning of the pandemic, including a strict national lockdown protocol. The Thai government aimed to achieve herd immunity through an efficient vaccination programme. Initially, vaccine supply shortage and a lack of vaccine options plagued the health system, but this has since been improved. Continuous monitoring of the situation through research is being carried out to assess the level of immunity among the population whereby the current general recommendation is presently a fourth booster dose for adults. Hurdles towards achieving herd immunity remain. One such issue is the low level of vaccine literacy among those that are unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated. Another obstacle is the sizeable rate of hesitancy towards getting booster doses. Achieving herd immunity in the Thai population would require multilateral cooperation, improved health promotion to target population groups, such as older adults, and a developed distribution system for those with limited access, such as those in the rural areas.

COVID‐19 vaccine wastage in Thailand amidst vaccine inequity and pandemic‐to‐endemic transition

“…There are seven vaccine types used in Thailand: Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Serum Institute of India [1,12]. These vaccines have different storage and transportation requirements, with several vaccines needing ultracold storage (e.g., −80 • C for Pfizer).…”

“…COVID‐19 is a global public health threat that has overburdened the health‐care systems across countries. To attain herd immunity, vaccination programs have been conducted globally since 2021 [1]. However, COVID‐19 vaccine wastage continues to hamper this progress: Publicly available reports showed that approximately 158 million doses have been discarded as of July 2022.…”

“…Since then, as of 25 November 2022, there have been 4702,330 total confirmed cases of COVID‐19, with 33,106 deaths reported to WHO. The vaccination program, which started in June 2021, has achieved its goal of vaccinating 70% of Thai citizens [1, 5]. As a result of the widespread vaccination coverage, the lessening number of cases and the perceived herd immunity, starting on 1 October 2022, the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand downgraded COVID‐19 status from a dangerous communicable disease to an endemic disease subject to surveillance [6].…”

The Effects of CoronaVac and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in Reducing Severe Illness in Thailand: A Retrospective Cohort Study

“…Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs), people with underlying chronic conditions, and people aged ≥60 years were prioritized target populations for vaccination [ 5 ]. Given the high number of COVID-19 cases in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, it was classified as a red zone and considered a top priority for vaccination [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Effectiveness of Coronavac and ChAdOx1 COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness in Thailand: A retrospective cohort study

“…Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs), people with underlying chronic conditions, and people aged ≥ 60 years were prioritized target populations for vaccination [5]. Given the high COVID-19 cases in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, it was classi ed in a red zone and considered a top priority for vaccination [6,7].…”