Thailand Ministry of Health reports 4,837 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 29 deaths since yesterday. The ministry also announced an additional 5,198 patients recovered from the COVID-19 virus.
According to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the government is seeking a supply of smallpox vaccine from the World Health Organization (WHO) to boost public immunity in the case of a virus outbreak.
Despite the fact that Thailand has yet to record or detect a case of monkeypox infection, he believes that the growing number of international visitors will increase the danger of infection.
Mr. Anutin made the plea on the sidelines of the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 5 at a meeting with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus.
Prof Dr. Somsak Lolekha, chairman of the Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand and the Paediatric Society of Thailand, stated that monkeypox would not pose a significant public health threat in Thailand because the majority of the population has been vaccinated against smallpox.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, previous African research suggests that the smallpox vaccine is at least 85 percent effective against monkeypox.
“Immunity induced by the smallpox vaccine can last up to 80 years after vaccination,” Prof Dr Somsak said.
Despite the benefits, Thailand stopped administering the vaccine in large numbers after the WHO declared the disease eradicated in 1980. He added that live-attenuated vaccines, such as the smallpox shot, have been known to cause severe, sometimes fatal, side effects, especially in immunocompromised people.
As a result, he said, there is no need for the country to stockpile monkeypox vaccines, citing five medical organizations’ advice.