More kids aged 5-11 are getting Covid-19. A spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said today that the infection rate for this age group was 6.6% between January 1 and February 2. He said the rate has risen now that the Delta and Omicron variants have broken out, and the total number of cases for this group was 137,262 on February 2. The spokesman said more vaccinations had to be given to young people because enflamed organs have been found in young Covid-19 patients.
Vaccinations for 5-11 year olds started on January 31, but they were still optional. On February 7, vaccination in schools. The infection rate for this group was 1.4% from January to November 2020. It then rose to 6.2% from December 2020 to March 2021. It finally rose to 6.6%, the most recently reported rate, from January 1 to February 2.
Thailand is slowly allowing children younger and younger to get vaccines. Kids as young as six can now get Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, and the Thai Food and Drug Administration is looking into pushing the minimum age for this down to three.
PM Prayut is urging health officials to move faster on vaccinating children 5 and older, since the number of children and teenagers in Thailand that have tested positive for Covid-19 is alarming health officials. One Northeastern province, Korat, has seven Covid-19 cluster infections. Seven schools in the province reported students and teachers infected. One school is using online learning until February 9, and another school will use it until February 25.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post