Hope for humanity

As scientists and health officials around the world continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the general population’s job is clear and simple. Get vaccinated.

In 1918, the Great Influenza or “Spanish Flu” pandemic was believed to have caused approximately 50 million deaths worldwide – that’s 2.7% of the global population at that time. Unlike most flu strains, the 1918 strain mostly affected those aged between 20-40: the most severe symptoms included inflamed lungs which would fill up with fluid, causing patients to suffocate. 

Fast forward to over a century later, and the world is faced with another pandemic - COVID-19. The difference is this time, scientists are dealing with a global population of 7.5 billion, and the fight isn’t just against disease, it’s happening in an era where a wealth of unverified information is available online, so it’s also a fight against an infodemic. 

First detected in 2020, COVID-19 has already taken millions of lives globally: both case numbers and deaths are currently on an upward trajectory; but there’s increasing optimism that vaccines are about to change that. Between 28 Feb - 20 April, 712,610 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have already been administered to high risk groups in Thailand. With a population of nearly 70 million, Thailand has a long road ahead before reaching its vaccination coverage target of 50-70% percent of all people, but with the help of hospitals such as Ratchaphiphat Hospital under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, authorities believe this goal can be achieved.

Founded in 1999, the hospital was the brainchild of Ratchaphiphat Kosol, the abbot of Sri Sudaram Temple in Bangkok Noi district. With the sole mission of serving the people by providing through professional healthcare services, and ensuring patient and personal safety through the implementation of an advanced data and analytics system, he requested the help of philanthropists Term and Chang Promjeen, who donated a 7-rai plot of land in Bang Khae district which would become the hospital’s blessed grounds.

With the COVID-19 outbreak, the hospital’s mission has never been better served as it plays a crucial role in Thailand’s fight against the spread of COVID-19 through support for both lab testing and for the national vaccination programme. When the Bang Khae cluster emerged in March 2021, for example, 3,500 people were tested for COVID-19 at the hospital in one week, although thankfully, only 5-6 people were confirmed positive. Outside the hospital, migrant workers are seen lining up patiently outside a mobile swab station, as staff dexterously suit up in PPE. “We provide health checks for everyone,” says Ms. Phanida Boonnachote, a registered nurse at the hospital. “We also do COVID tests for migrant workers as is required by the Labour Ministry, which is a good thing because we are nipping the problem in the bud.”

VACCINATION

On a designated floor of the main building, a fragile-looking man dons a mask and stands close to another gentleman sporting a pink Barbie bag, both of them unknowingly making a strong social statement by showing up for the vaccine shot. “I’m not scared at all,” he says with an easy smile. “I just wanted to get the jab for everyone’s peace of mind.” 

The steady stream of people trickling to the hospital for either their first or second COVID jabs all belong to high-risk groups, which include frontline healthcare workers, patients with chronic diseases, persons aged 60 years and over, and authorities involved with disease control. The process is simple. Anyone registered within the districts under the hospital’s care and who fits the profile of being in a high-risk group is instantly eligible for a COVID jab and placed on the “white list”. A vaccine risk assessment form must be filled in and vaccine candidates must meet the hospital’s health criteria before staff can give them the green light for inoculation.

For 86-year-old Chalao Amatayakul, things went swimmingly despite going it alone. “It all went very smoothly,” she says, boasting of having hopped in a cab solo for a routine health check-up before deciding to get vaccinated whilst there. “I just walked in, passed the health check-up and got the jab. It was all so simple.”

For those not brimming with such confidence, hospital staff are ready and willing to provide any form of support, from providing consultation services down to downloading the Mor Prom application – the key to speeding up the vaccination process. 

MOR PROM APPLICATION 

In an age where almost everything is being digitised, patients and healthcare workers are maximizing the use of technology to their own advantage. The introduction of the Mor Prom application, created to support the national vaccine programme, eases the process of storing personal data in a systematic way, minimizes time spent dealing with paperwork and speeds up the administration process as well as the vaccination process altogether. 

“I really hope everyone takes the time to understand this application, purely for their own benefit,” says Dr. Puritat Sangtongpanichakul. 

“Before, we were recording a patient’s personal data manually, but with the introduction of the Mor Prom application, everything is made easier. You automatically have everything stored in this app - the date you received the vaccine, the name of the vaccine, its serial number, batch number, whether you’re taking the first or second dose. The app also sends out a warning message requesting each vaccinee to report any adverse effects from inoculation. It’s all very convenient.”

With the need to vaccinate 70% of a world population of 7.5 billion, this is the most important race against time for humanity in modern history. The world has never embarked on a campaign of such scale (843 million doses have been administered so far according to data collected from WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard on April 19, 2021) but if vaccinations don’t take place now and with great urgency, the door will be open for new variants to pose a further threat to global health. We can all stop the pandemic together by strictly practising personal protective measures, getting vaccinated, and continuing to observe public health and safety measures until we reach herd immunity. Only then, will the COVID-19 become just another page in history, alongside the Spanish Flu and other pandemics. 

As WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus put it, “We are not safe until everyone is safe.”

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Original article published on WHO Thailand.