Coronavirus (Covid-19)Thailand

BA.2, Covid-19 “stealth” subvariant of Omicron spiking in Thailand

Photo by The Pulse composite.

The so-called “stealth” subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, has now surged to make up 18.5% of new Covid-19 cases in Thailand. A top and vocal Thai virologist says that although the symptoms of BA.2 are no more severe than BA.1, it spreads faster. The Public Health Ministry says BA.2 is called a stealth variant because PCR tests don’t always detect it. Japanese lab experiments show AB.2 weakens immunity created from vaccines, although people with booster shots are 74% less likely to get infected by it.

Thailand reported 18,885 Covid-19 infections in 24 hours on Friday. 224 of these infections were from international arrivals. The death toll went up by 29. 10,946 people recovered from Covid-19 and left hospitals. Virologist Yong Poovorawan posted on Facebook this morning, showing a chart of information on Covid-19 cases and deaths per week. The information is from the Department of Disease Control. The most recent numbers on the chart, which are at week eight of 2022, show a very steep spike, although the deaths per week are much lower than the number of cases.

BA.2, Covid-19 “stealth” subvariant of Omicron spiking in Thailand | News by Thaiger

SOURCE: Nation Thailand | Yong Poovorawan

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Tara Abhasakun

A Thai-American dual citizen, Tara has reported news and spoken on a number of human rights and cultural news issues in Thailand. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in history from The College of Wooster. She interned at Southeast Asia Globe, and has written for a number of outlets. Tara reports on a range of Thailand news issues.