Health Ministry ready to offer fourth jabs

Health Ministry ready to offer fourth jabs

Booster shots would be for select groups

The Ministry of Public Health is now ready to offer fourth Covid-19 shots to act as boosters to medical staff, front-line public health officers and people with low immunity, says the sub-committee on immunity promotion.

The sub-panel, led by chief of the Department of Disease Control Dr Opas Kankawinpong, decided on Wednesday on the need for the extra boosters.

The sub-committee’s resolution will be sent to the national committee on communicable disease tomorrow for a decision.

Dr Opas said the boosters should be mRNA-based or viral vector-based vaccines to enhance immunity.

People who should get the fourth dose right now are medical staff and those with health conditions resulting in low immunity levels.

Vaccine recipients who received two doses of the inactivated Sinovac vaccine from China should get AstraZeneca or Pfizer for their third dose and one of the same two for their fourth, he said.

Those who received a third dose of Pfizer should get the same vaccine for their fourth dose.

“Those who match with our criteria will be able to get the vaccine immediately after it has been approved by the national committee on communicable diseases,” he added.

The ministry is urgently offering Covid-19 boosters amid heightened concerns about a possible outbreak of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Many studies have shown that the latest mutated virus can evade detection by the body’s immune system as existing vaccines’ efficiency is significantly reduced.

However, studies also suggest that having booster shots after an initial vaccination could reduce hospitalisation, critical illness, and death.

Regarding the vaccination of children aged five to 11 years old, he said his subcommittee has been in talks with the Ministry of Education about the details and they will be resolved soon. He said creating understanding is necessary initially.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the use of a vaccine from Pfizer for children aged five to 11.

Previously, the FDA had given the green light for the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12 and above.

The government plans to provide 10 million Pfizer doses to five million children next year.