BANGKOK, Dec 3 (TNA) – The Omicron variant of COVID-19 will definitely enter Thailand and measures can only delay its arrival, warned a health advisor who called for quick inoculation for 10 million unvaccinated people in the country.
Dr. Tawee Chotepitayasunon, advisor to the Department of Disease Control and the Department of Medical Services, said that the Omicron variant had been detected overseas a few months ago and was spreading. Finally it would reach Thailand, he predicted.
Existing measures including entry denial for people from southern Africa would only delay its arrival. In the meantime, Thailand would have to speed up vaccination for the 10 million people who had not been inoculated to reduce the impacts of outbreaks, Dr. Tawee said.
Unvaccinated people could develop severe symptoms, he warned.
Medications could be administered to help infected people. However, officials concerned were monitoring outbreaks of the new variant. If transmission is quick but symptoms are milder, the disease can become endemic, Dr. Tawee said. What was already clear was that the Omicron variant spread fast, he said. (TNA)
