Assoc. Prof. Dr. Opas reveals the situation of vaccination against the MPOX disease, recommends that the risk group should get vaccinated first, the general public does not need it yet. As for those who have been vaccinated, get 1 booster shot to prevent monkeypox.
The MPox situation, formerly known as monkeypox, has returned to spread again after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the MPox outbreak in some areas of Africa a “public health emergency of international concern” after the disease spread from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which killed more than 450 people, to other countries in Central and East Africa.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Opas Phutcharoen, Acting Deputy Director of the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center, revealed that statistics on the MPox vaccination service at the anonymous clinic of the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center from March 1 to August 22, 2024, have seen more than 400 doses of the service and there are still people interested in registering for the injection contin
uously. The side effects after the injection were found to be pain, swelling, redness, nausea, similar to general vaccines.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Opas said that there are 2 places providing vaccination services, namely the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute and the AIDS Research Center. The Thai Red Cross Society has been preparing since last year after discovering that the monkeypox or MPox disease was spreading. Therefore, 2,000 doses of vaccine have been prepared for those at risk of infection. Normally, 1 dose of vaccine is injected once, and each person must be injected 2 times in the subcutaneous layer. After there was additional information that it could be divided into 0.5 cc for subcutaneous layer, it could be adjusted to be injected intradermally, which would save 1/5 of the vaccine. Therefore, the price would be cheaper. According to data from the United States, intradermal injection is effective similarly to subcutaneous injection. The effectiveness of both types of vaccination has been tested and foun
d to be no different. Since Thailand has limited vaccines, it can be adjusted to be intradermal injection.
For the general public at this time, it is not necessary to get vaccinated. It is recommended that only high-risk groups such as medical personnel, laboratory staff, people who travel from countries with outbreaks, have sex or come into contact with people with monkeypox. The injection must be given within 4 days and no more than 14 days. However, there is no need to worry because it is not as easy to get infected as COVID. This virus is mainly transmitted through contact. Therefore, there is no need to worry that it will spread quickly because it will only spread to certain groups.
When asked about the need to receive additional vaccinations after previous vaccinations, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Opas said that in people who have been vaccinated, it is believed that there is still immunity from vaccination that can provide cross-virus immunity from different strains of viruses in the same group. For those who h
ave been vaccinated, it is recommended that if there is no risk at all, nothing needs to be done. If there is a risk, only one booster shot should be given.
The Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center is providing the MPOX vaccination service starting from March 1, 2024 for people aged 18 and over. The vaccination is a total of 2 injections (1 injection each time) at least 28 days apart. There are 2 injection methods to choose from: Method 1: Subcutaneous injection at a price of 8,500 baht per injection; Method 2: Intradermal injection at a price of 2,200 baht per injection. Those interested can register for the vaccination via LINE ID: @ 091AOJEX. An officer will contact you to make an appointment and inform you of the date and time of service. The vaccination service is available Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (except public holidays) at the Anonymous Clinic, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center, Ratchadamri Road, Bangkok. For more information, call 0 2251 6711-5 (during o
ffice hours.
Source: Thai News Agency