Health ministry says Covid-19 will become endemic in Thailand this year

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry plans to move Covid-19 from pandemic status to endemic status this year. According to a Bangkok Post report, Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit says this can be achieved thanks to people cooperating with the vaccine rollout. While the Omicron variant is highly-contagious and spreading rapidly across the country, symptoms are milder and the death rate is lower.

“The disease naturally reduces its severity on its own and everyone in Thailand is cooperating with the vaccination drive. Consequently, the disease can do no harm. Besides, there are effective operations for treatment and the slowdown of outbreaks. These will make it possible for the disease to become endemic.”

Kiattiphum says the ministry’s strategy this year is to reduce the speed of transmission as rapidly-spreading infections will place too much pressure on the healthcare system and could…