Bad News, A Total Of 618 Thai Health Workers Are Infected With COVID-19 Even Though They Have Been Vaccinated By Sinovac

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JAKARTA - Thailand's Ministry of Health said that more than 600 health workers who had received two doses of China's Sinovac vaccine were infected with COVID-19, as authorities consider giving booster doses to increase immunity. As reported by Antara, Sunday, July 11, out of 677,348 health workers who received two Sinovac doses, as many as 618 of them were exposed, according to data from the Ministry of Health for the April-July period. A nurse died and another health worker is in critical condition. The expert panel suggested a third dose to stimulate the immunity of health workers at risk, said a high-ranking health official, Sopon Iamsirithawon, during a press conference, Sunday, July 11.

"This will be a different vaccine, either AstraZeneca virus vector or mRNA vaccine, which Thailand will receive in the near future," he said, adding that the panel's suggestion would be considered on Monday, July 12.

The announcement came as the Southeast Asian nation reported a record 9,418 infections in the community on Sunday. The day before, authorities recorded a record 91 daily COVID-19 deaths. Since the pandemic began last year, Thailand has confirmed 336,371 cases and 2,711 deaths. The majority of Thailand's medical and frontline workers were given the Sinovac vaccine after February, while the AstraZeneca virus vector vaccine arrived in June. .Thailand expects donation of 1.5 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the US by the end of July and has ordered 20 million doses, which will be delivered after October. Thailand's neighboring country, Indonesia, which also relies heavily on Sinovac, will on Friday deliver the Moderna vaccine. as reinforcement for health workers.