Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age Groups

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the pivotal role of vaccines in mitigating the devastating impact of the virus. In Thailand, the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 began on 28 February 2021, initially prioritizing healthcare professionals before expanding into a nationwide effort on 7 Jun...

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Main Authors: Chaiwat Wilasang, Pikkanet Suttirat, Dhammika Leshan Wannigama, Mohan Amarasiri, Sudarat Chadsuthi, Charin Modchang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/9/12/286
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author Chaiwat Wilasang
Pikkanet Suttirat
Dhammika Leshan Wannigama
Mohan Amarasiri
Sudarat Chadsuthi
Charin Modchang
author_facet Chaiwat Wilasang
Pikkanet Suttirat
Dhammika Leshan Wannigama
Mohan Amarasiri
Sudarat Chadsuthi
Charin Modchang
author_sort Chaiwat Wilasang
collection DOAJ
description The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the pivotal role of vaccines in mitigating the devastating impact of the virus. In Thailand, the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 began on 28 February 2021, initially prioritizing healthcare professionals before expanding into a nationwide effort on 7 June 2021. This study employs a mathematical model of COVID-19 transmission with vaccination to analyze the impact of Thailand’s COVID-19 vaccination program from 1 March 2021 to 31 December 2022. We specifically assess the potential loss of lives and occurrence of severe infections across various age groups in a hypothetical scenario where vaccines were not administered. By fitting our model with officially reported COVID-19 death data, our analysis reveals that vaccination efforts prevented a total of 300,234 deaths (95% confidence interval: 295,938–304,349) and averted 1.60 million severe COVID-19 infections (95% confidence interval: 1.54–1.65 million). Notably, the elderly population over 80 years old benefited the most from vaccination, with an estimated 84,518 lives saved, constituting 4.28% of this age group. Furthermore, individuals aged between 70 and 74 years experienced the highest reduction in severe infections, with vaccination potentially preventing 8.35% of this age bracket from developing severe COVID-19.
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spelling doaj-art-ab555bf3148448b78336f4190fefffb92025-08-20T02:57:18ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662024-11-0191228610.3390/tropicalmed9120286Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age GroupsChaiwat Wilasang0Pikkanet Suttirat1Dhammika Leshan Wannigama2Mohan Amarasiri3Sudarat Chadsuthi4Charin Modchang5Biophysics Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, ThailandBiophysics Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, ThailandDepartment of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Yamagata Prefectural Central Hospital, Yamagata 990-2292, JapanEnvironmental Water Quality Engineering Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineer-ing, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, JapanDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, ThailandBiophysics Group, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, ThailandThe COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the pivotal role of vaccines in mitigating the devastating impact of the virus. In Thailand, the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 began on 28 February 2021, initially prioritizing healthcare professionals before expanding into a nationwide effort on 7 June 2021. This study employs a mathematical model of COVID-19 transmission with vaccination to analyze the impact of Thailand’s COVID-19 vaccination program from 1 March 2021 to 31 December 2022. We specifically assess the potential loss of lives and occurrence of severe infections across various age groups in a hypothetical scenario where vaccines were not administered. By fitting our model with officially reported COVID-19 death data, our analysis reveals that vaccination efforts prevented a total of 300,234 deaths (95% confidence interval: 295,938–304,349) and averted 1.60 million severe COVID-19 infections (95% confidence interval: 1.54–1.65 million). Notably, the elderly population over 80 years old benefited the most from vaccination, with an estimated 84,518 lives saved, constituting 4.28% of this age group. Furthermore, individuals aged between 70 and 74 years experienced the highest reduction in severe infections, with vaccination potentially preventing 8.35% of this age bracket from developing severe COVID-19.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/9/12/286COVID-19vaccinationmathematical modelingaverted deathsThailand
spellingShingle Chaiwat Wilasang
Pikkanet Suttirat
Dhammika Leshan Wannigama
Mohan Amarasiri
Sudarat Chadsuthi
Charin Modchang
Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age Groups
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
COVID-19
vaccination
mathematical modeling
averted deaths
Thailand
title Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age Groups
title_full Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age Groups
title_fullStr Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age Groups
title_full_unstemmed Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age Groups
title_short Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination in Thailand: Averted Deaths and Severe Infections Across Age Groups
title_sort impact of covid 19 vaccination in thailand averted deaths and severe infections across age groups
topic COVID-19
vaccination
mathematical modeling
averted deaths
Thailand
url https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/9/12/286
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