The Year of the Tiger has not been kind to Thais so far with the quick spread of the Omicron variant, vaccine confusion, ATK scarcity, pork shortages, rampant inflation and PM2.5 pollution.
To ease people's anxiety over the accumulative set of issues, the government has not enforced preventive measures to allow people to live, breathe and enjoy life to a certain extent -- no lockdowns, no restaurant closures and no prohibition of interprovincial trips. Many entertainment venues and travel destinations are still open.
Recently, the Ministry of Public Health announced it is even preparing to lower the emergency level of Covid-19 in the country down from four to three. They have also reinstated the quarantine-free Test & Go scheme after it was abruptly suspended late last year.
People are also being comforted by experts who have shared the endgame theory in which they believe Omicron -- which only causes mild symptoms -- will eventually end up as a natural vaccine and subsequently lead to herd immunity. They say everyone will catch Omicron in the end. It's just a matter of time.
If Thais were babies, all these hopeful conversations would be like a pacifier to keep them quiet and at ease despite dangers that are still lurking around every corner.
At a time when the population of Thailand, if not the world, is at risk of Covid-19 variants that can still cause death or bring about lifelong damages, words of comfort are probably not the right solution.
In moments of crisis, people deserve to know the truth so that there is no room for carelessness.
First, several medical experts have come out and counteracted the idea that Omicron is mild and that it will eventually create a natural vaccine for the body and later herd immunity. They say vaccines are designed to allow the body to get exposed to viruses in a dose that is not intended to cause illness and transmission. Omicron, on the other hand, leads to sickness and even death. Thus, the variant should by no means be labelled as a natural vaccine.
Top US infectious disease adviser Dr Anthony Fauci said last week it's still too early to predict whether the rapid spread of Omicron will push the novel coronavirus infection from the pandemic phase to a more manageable endemic phase.
"It is an open question as to whether or not Omicron is going to become a live virus vaccination that everyone is hoping for because you have such a great deal of variability with new variants emerging," he said at a virtual event last week held by the World Economic Forum.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) also warned against describing the Omicron variant as mild, saying it is killing people across the world.
"Just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising people and causing death. In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick that it is overwhelming health systems around the world," said WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Second, herd immunity -- or population immunity -- cannot be achieved by having everyone infected with the virus. Experts say it can only happen if a high percentage of the population is vaccinated. The WHO also supports achieving herd immunity through vaccination, not by allowing disease to spread through any segment of the population as this would result in unnecessary cases and deaths.
The honest truth from professional medical authorities should serve as an alarm for the Thais as well as the government to stop underestimating the Covid-19 situation in the country right now.
Walk around a neighbourhood and you might see that under current state measures and public conversations regarding the outbreak, a lot of people have become less guarded. People not wearing face masks in public places has increasingly become a familiar sight. Some crowded public venues have also failed to implement social distancing measures. All this is the result of their belief that the situation is now under control as the number of new infections drops on a daily basis.
State measures should be issued and implemented based on truth. Of course, the national economy needs to be rebuilt but at the same time, people's health and livelihoods should also be prioritised.
If there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it's simply best to say so.
Arusa Pisuthipan is editor of the Life section of the Bangkok Post.
