BANGKOK, Jan 25 (TNA) – The Omicron variant of COVID-19 that has spread worldwide for about two months is likely to bring an end to the pandemic, said Prof Dr Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital.

 

He said that Omicron was spreading fast in Europe and Americas and declining in Africa.

 

Meanwhile, Thailand, with Omicron outbreaks, logged 7,000-8,000 new COVID-19 cases and less than 20 fatalities daily. Among about 70 million people in the country, 74.4% received one shot of COVID-19 vaccines, 68.5% had two shots and 15.8% got their booster doses.

 

Discover Cigna’s range of health insurance solutions created for expats and local nationals living in Thailand - click to view

 

Full story: https://tna.mcot.net/english-news-869435

 

-- © Copyright TNA 2022-01-26

 

- Aetna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

- Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

The ending of a pandemic is as inevitable as the starting of one.

 

It's just a matter of how long it takes between the start and the end.

Based on what I've read about history they seem to last for between 3 and 4 years and we're into year 3 right now.....

 

I feel the worst is over, sure there are still people getting mildly sick but with not much more than cold like symptoms. Time to move on and get our lives back to normal again. 

Some day this war's gonna end........

"Dr Prasit Expects Pandemic to End"

 

he can be sure, we are many sharing his expectations

And TAT expects 70 million tourists here this year.

what would we do without his expertise 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 that has spread worldwide for about two months is likely to bring an end to the pandemic, said Prof Dr Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital.

Hallelujah

Hope his expectation is right ... but who knows if another, and worse, varient won't just come along (and why wouldn't it?) ... sending us all back to square one ... and off for further boosters ...

 

Perhaps the public need to read such encouraging news ... but I'd rather these medical types got back to work on effective treatments - and less headline-making predictions.

2 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

what would we do without his expertise 

Apparently he's speculating that Omicron may actually be milder than Delta...

Dr Prasit Expects Pandemic to End

I'm sure Dr. Yong will set him straight.  If the pandemic ends, so does the 'vaccine' revenue and testing revenue as well as the total power government bureaucrats have to order the citizens to jump and how high to jump.

The pandemic can't be allowed to end any time soon.

Easy to predict something when you control the excel spreadsheet.

It's not just amazing in Thailand, we live in the Magic Kingdom which has dodged the fate of every other nation on earth with infections. 

2 hours ago, Karma80 said:

Easy to predict something when you control the excel spreadsheet.

It's not just amazing in Thailand, we live in the Magic Kingdom which has dodged the fate of every other nation on earth with infections. 

Not just Thailand but most Asian countries that have high vaccination rate and the sense of collective responsibility are doing well. 

10 hours ago, Kenchamp said:

I feel the worst is over, sure there are still people getting mildly sick but with not much more than cold like symptoms. Time to move on and get our lives back to normal again. 

Yes but slowly step by step please.

7 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Apparently he's speculating that Omicron may actually be milder than Delta...

This has already been stated by many global experts/country experts etc., over the last several months; many infections but not as srious as Delta etc., less people in ICU, less deaths.

The pandemic will never end here. Keep extending the state of emergency and the scaremongering to  control the peasants.

11 hours ago, ukrules said:

Based on what I've read about history they seem to last for between 3 and 4 years and we're into year 3 right now.....

But we didn’t have incredibly sensitive PCR tests back then. As the virus will never become extinct, new cases will always continue to be found, so I can’t see how it can ever end, unless we acquire some common sense, which seems unlikely.

4 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

Not just Thailand but most Asian countries that have high vaccination rate and the sense of collective responsibility are doing well. 

Good one. You think like them. Viruses don’t care about race or face and will infect any human whatever their dubious agenda on tally transparency. Thailand will be infected the same as anywhere just as it is with the flu and common colds. No biggie. Just test and fess up. 
 

Issue of official ending of pandemic in Thailand is it will not suit the current government’s tenet of total control. Fully expect spurious rules & regs and ubiquitous mask wearing to continue. 

1 hour ago, CygnusX1 said:

I can’t see how it can ever end, unless we acquire some common sense, which seems unlikely.

We really need to be able to get to the point where we can say "it's no more infectious or dangerous than the flu, it's simply another strain that we can live with".  We may already be quite close to that point.

 

The problem we have in today's political and economic climate is that people love being part of think tanks and tasks forces as it's easy money, so they aren't in a hurry to give that up.  Ditto with governments and additional powers.

do you think that in february they will change the sandbox rules, and reduce the PCR test to only 1 (instead of 1 now)?

i am about to file another PASS application but not sure if to do it now or wait to 1 february,

maybe that will be easier.

Once again right at the forefront of international research. Well almost. Well not quite almost. Well actually not even close. Do these so-called 'experts' actually collaborate with real experts in other countries? I think not or maybe they do but this always very late look what I know stuff is for domestic consumption. Just pitiful. Now it's OMG Omicron B2. No idea that's it's not much different to B1 or maybe nxt month another 'expert' will come out and anounce to the population what has been known for weeks or even months. Again I say pitiful. It's been said now for quite some time that Omicron will lead us into the endemic stage. This wally thinks it will.

6 hours ago, CygnusX1 said:

But we didn’t have incredibly sensitive PCR tests back then. As the virus will never become extinct, new cases will always continue to be found, so I can’t see how it can ever end, unless we acquire some common sense, which seems unlikely.

A pandemic ends when it becomes reclassified as endemic, doesn't mean the disease has gone, eventually it will be added to the list of common colds.

 

They didn't expect SARS to disappear back in 2003 but it did and hasn't been seen since.

19 hours ago, Kenchamp said:

I feel the worst is over, sure there are still people getting mildly sick but with not much more than cold like symptoms. Time to move on and get our lives back to normal again. 

Rubbish

1 hour ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

Rubbish

 

Not rubbish. He's right. 

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

A pandemic ends when it becomes reclassified as endemic, doesn't mean the disease has gone, eventually it will be added to the list of common colds.

 

They didn't expect SARS to disappear back in 2003 but it did and hasn't been seen since.

Even if it’s eventually reclassified as endemic, does that mean that all restrictions, such as those horrid face masks, will ever end? In an age in which we’ve become utterly obsessed with health and safety, I’m not so sure. Just look at the continuing airport security theatre 20 years after the 9/11 attacks.

 

I think SARS 1 disappeared because it never became remotely as widespread as SARS 2.

 

 

 

Really?
Wow! I thought it would last forever, just like the flu!?

Genius - Can you also tell me the winning lottery numbers?