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.

Poverty, noncommunicable diseases, and perceived health risks among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in urban Thailand.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative impacts on vulnerable populations worldwide. This study aimed to examine the association between the health worries of urban older people in Thailand and covariates related to income and non-income poverty, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and metabolic risk factors (MRFs). The study utilized the 2021 Survey on Housing and Support Services for Poor Older Adults, which sampled lower-income urban adults aged at least 55 years from five national regions. Bivariate analyses were performed to determine the relationships of NCDs and MRFs with the covariates. Then, binary logistic regression was used to analyze outcomes of perceived health risks including becoming infected with COVID-19, declining health status, and being unable to access health care. Higher educational attainment and income levels were observed to be negatively correlated with worse health status and the inability to access health care. Subjective household crowding consistently had a positive association with the three health concerns. Having MRFs was related only to concerns about health status and access to health care during the pandemic. Welfare and health policies need to improve their responsiveness to the needs of the older population, especially for protection from socioeconomic shocks such as those seen with the current pandemic.

Disparity between knowledge and practice regarding COVID-19 in Thailand: A cross-sectional study of older adults.

The efficacy of the public health measures to mitigate COVID-19 is influenced by health literacy which includes the level of knowledge about the disease and the preventive behaviours adopted by individuals. Thailand, being a low- and middle-income country with an ageing society, has to consider both the challenges that its health system has in disseminating information and the disparities in health literacy among its older population. This study investigated the knowledge and behaviour of older adults in Thailand regarding COVID-19 using the Impact of COVID-19 on Older Persons in Thailand, a cross-sectional survey. The data was primarily collected online and included 1,230 adults aged at least 60 years from nine provinces of the five regions of the country. The associated factors with the health literacy outcomes were tested using bivariate logistic regression analyses. It was observed that 43% of the older adults in the sample had proper knowledge of the disease and 33% adopted preventive behaviours. Knowledge about the disease was not associated with preventive behaviour. The associated factors common between the increased levels of knowledge and adoption of behaviours were rural area residence and higher educational attainment levels. Obtaining information from the internet was observed to increase knowledge while having the television and radio as sources of information had negative relationship. Many older adults continued to be employed during the lockdown period and this was associated with decreased adoption of preventive behaviour. The context of vulnerable populations, particularly older adults, is different with regard to their access to information and concern about income. Health information has to be tailored for targeted populations. Their needs also have to be addressed as they have increased risks because of financial and health susceptibilities.

Psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic in low-income and middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study of older persons in Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 situation in Thailand was controlled with various social measures. Much of the information covered in the media and in studies focused on the public health and economic aspects of the pandemic. This study aimed to explore the psychological well-being of older people, which is important especially in an ageing society categorised as low income or middle income due to the limits of economic and healthcare resources. SETTING: The impact of COVID-19 on older persons in Thailand, an online survey, taken across nine provinces within the five regions of the country. PARTICIPANTS: Information was collected from 1230 adults aged at least 60 years old.If an older person was illiterate, unable to access the internet or had a disability preventing them from responding to the survey, an intermediary residing in the community conducted the survey interview. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The analysis focused on the worries of older adults and the factors associated with psychological distress experienced during the pandemic using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The majority of people aged at least 60 years old experienced psychological distress during COVID-19. Employment loss (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.38), inadequate income (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.44) and debt incursion (OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.57 to 4.80) were detrimental to psychological well-being. The negative changes in the perception of their health status (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.23 to 2.99) and decreased life satisfaction (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.45 to 1.87) also weighed on older Thais. The protective factors for psychological well-being were residing in rural areas (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.61) and being married (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.01). CONCLUSION: Observing the concerns of the older population is important for introducing policies that can alleviate their precarious financial and health statuses.

Knowledge-Behavior Gap on COVID-19 among Older People in Rural Thailand.

This study analyzed the difference between rural and urban older adults in Thailand regarding the relationship between the knowledge and behavior toward the prevention of contracting COVID-19. Path analysis was used to observe if the performance of protective behaviors was affected by the level of knowledge that older people have about the disease. This study used the Impact of COVID-19 on Older Persons in Thailand survey collected across the five regions of the country. Rural residents benefited from community network of village health volunteers who provided information during the pandemic but, they had disadvantages on accessing newer media sources, mainly the internet, for the latest developments on COVID-19. Rural older adults had a higher level of knowledge about COVID-19 than those in urban areas; no difference was observed regarding their behavior to prevent themselves from being infected. The knowledge-behavior gap was viewed as a mechanism of cognitive avoidance because of overwhelming unprecedented information.