Can Thailand achieve COVID-19 herd immunity?

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a great impact on the social, economic, and health systems of Thailand. A variety of measures to curb the spread of the disease were implemented since the beginning of the pandemic, including a strict national lockdown protocol. The Thai government aimed to achieve herd immunity through an efficient vaccination programme. Initially, vaccine supply shortage and a lack of vaccine options plagued the health system, but this has since been improved. Continuous monitoring of the situation through research is being carried out to assess the level of immunity among the population whereby the current general recommendation is presently a fourth booster dose for adults. Hurdles towards achieving herd immunity remain. One such issue is the low level of vaccine literacy among those that are unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated. Another obstacle is the sizeable rate of hesitancy towards getting booster doses. Achieving herd immunity in the Thai population would require multilateral cooperation, improved health promotion to target population groups, such as older adults, and a developed distribution system for those with limited access, such as those in the rural areas.

Dengue and COVID-19 infections in the ASEAN region: a concurrent outbreak of viral diseases.

Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have faced dengue outbreaks for decades, and the region has one of the highest rates of dengue globally. Outbreaks continue to occur concurrently with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the 10 ASEAN countries. Both infectious diseases pose a tremendous burden in these countries related to both infection control and the economy. Increases in the number of dengue cases occurred in part due to disruptions in the pathogen-host-vector relationship caused by changes in human behaviour in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The spread of dengue was further aggravated by the implementation of lockdowns and social distancing policies. These measures limited the coverage of dengue preventive programs and delayed the medical management of both diseases due to co-infection and misdiagnosis. It is of the utmost importance for the population to remain aware of both diseases, and dengue vector control strategies must be devised to properly address outbreaks using digitalization and remote surveillance. Similarly, critical triage algorithms and further research are also needed to combat co-infection and misdiagnosis. Controlling the spread of COVID-19 though vaccination should also be undertaken to reduce the impact of the pandemic.

Accelerating Indonesian COVID-19 vaccination rollout: a critical task amid the second wave.

Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been spreading in every part of the world, putting nations at risk with its pandemic status, including Indonesia. COVID-19 vaccine has been deemed as one of the most effective interventions to date for mitigating the spread and mortality from COVID-19. Responding to the situation, the Government of Indonesia (GOI) has allocated the means necessary to procure and distribute COVID-19 vaccines; placing into consideration the unique context of the country, recently categorized as a middle-income country and archipelagic with a population over 270 million. This article aims to present the challenges associated with the distribution of COVID-19 vaccination as well as recommendations to mitigate them, to ensure a timely and effective COVID-19 vaccination program in Indonesia.

Yemen's triple emergency: Food crisis amid a civil war and COVID-19 pandemic.

Yemen has been termed as the world's worst humanitarian crisis by the United Nations. About 20.1 million (more than 50% of population) Yemenis are facing hunger and 10 million are severely food insecure according to reports by the World Food Programme. With the spread of COVID-19, the situation in Yemen has worsened and humanitarian aid from other countries has become the basis of life for hundreds of thousands of Yemenis after the threat of famine. Yemen is practically one of the poorest countries in the world. It has structural vulnerabilities that have developed over a protracted period of conflict and poor governance and more than 50% live in starving, they suffer for getting one meal a day. To prevent a total collapse of Yemen's food crises, the government and the international community should act now more decisively.