Senior health official says South must move to Pfizer only to tackle Covid-19 outbreak

A senior health official in the southern province of Songkhla says the region must move to Pfizer vaccines only, in order to combat a surge in Covid-19 infections. According to a Nation Thailand report, Dr Papon Deechaisit is proposing a move from mixing Sinovac and AstraZeneca to using Pfizer for both doses.

There has been a concerning spike in infections in the southern provinces of Songkhla, Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, which has officials on alert. The CCSA has already said that without drastic intervention, the number of daily new infections – currently averaging between 500 and 600 – could surge to between 800 and 1,000.

Nation Thailand reports that yesterday, there were 621 new infections in Pattani, 602 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, 498 in Songkhla, 455 in Yala, and 453 in Narathiwat. Since April this year, Songkhla has reported 41,023 infections, with 172 deaths.

Papon says health officials in Songkhla can administer around 25,000 vaccine doses a day, meaning that 70% of residents could be vaccinated this month. In order to boost effectiveness, he suggests replacing the Sinovac and AstraZeneca cocktail with Pfizer for both doses. It’s understood that out of 120,000 students between the ages of 12 and 18, 92,000 have received at least the first dose.

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SOURCE: Nation Thailand