Bangkok doctor warns of lung infections from new Covid-19 sub-variant

One Bangkok doctor is warning the public of lung infections associated with the new sub-variant of Covid-19. The doctor, Nithipat Jearakul, is the head of Siriraj Hospital’s Department of Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis. Nithipat says that the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is as harmful to the lungs as the previous Delta variant. However, most people with lung infections are part of vulnerable groups.

Nithipat says that out of all people being treated for Covid, about 800 have lung infections. He said this makes up about 8% of coronavirus hospitalisations. Nithipat noted that this percentage is much lower than the percentage of people infected with the Delta variant who had lung infections. He said, however, that the lung infections are equal in severity.

Most of the people suffering from lung infections from BA.5 are in the so-called “608” group, according to Nithipat. This includes people 60 years old and older, those with underlying diseases, and pregnant women. It also includes those who received only 1 or 2 vaccine doses, or none at all. Nithipat said that very few people with lung infections have had booster shots. He said…

“Acquiring sufficient booster jabs can prevent hospitalisation and death.”

A government spokesperson said, however, that most people with Covid were in the “green” group with slight or mild symptoms such as a fever, temporary loss of taste and smell, sore throat, cough, and runny nose.

This warning comes after Thailand’s Public Health Ministry yesterday urged people with Covid to quarantine for 10 days. A spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, Dr Rungrueng Kitphati, said that if people have to leave their homes, such as for hospital trips, they must wear masks.

Despite the world seemingly getting back to normal, the World Health Organisation is warning that the Covid pandemic is far from finished.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post