Health ministry revises criteria for administration of booster vaccine doses

The Public Health Ministry has revised the formula for the administration of Covid-19 booster vaccine doses, according to a Nation Thailand report. The confirmation follows chatter on social media that the ministry had changed the criteria, prompting Thailand’s Anti-Fake News Centre to investigate and confirm it was true. According to the Nation Thailand report, the new criteria for getting a third or fourth booster dose is as follows:

For people over the age of 18, the third booster should be administered no more than 3 months after the second vaccine dose. A fourth dose should be given no more than 4 months after the third dose. People can also opt to receive a half dose of Pfizer as a booster, at their doctor’s discretion.

Young people between the ages of 12 and 17 should receive a full dose of Pfizer, or another mRNA vaccine, as their third dose, which should be administered between 4 and 6 months after the second dose.

Those who’ve recovered from Covid-19 infection should wait 3 months before receiving a booster dose.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry says that while 2 vaccine doses will not necessarily protect someone from becoming infected with the Omicron variant, it significantly decreases their chances of dying from the virus. A third dose can protect against infection in around 45 to 68% of patients and against death in 98%. A fourth dose can protect against infection in 82% of people.

The ministry is urging people who have not done so to get a third vaccine dose, as officials ramp up efforts to administer booster doses to 70% of the elderly population ahead of the Songkran holiday next month.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand