The Ministry of Public Health downplayed concerns yesterday over the possibility that Covid-19 may soon be declared endemic in Thailand, saying the costs of medical treatment and vaccination won’t be transferred to infected individuals once the disease is formally recognised as such.
Moreover, it will take time before a proposal to change the status of the pandemic can be endorsed, depending on how the Covid-19 situation in the country fares, said Dr Kiatiphum Wongrajit, permanent secretary for public health.
When quizzed on what will happen to healthcare costs if Covid-19 is declared endemic, he drew a comparison with the common flu.
Patients would still receive treatment under whatever healthcare schemes they have registered with, be it the universal health care scheme operated by the National Health Security Office, the social security system, or the Civil…
