80% of Myanmar’s Covid-19 patients unvaccinated

Yangon, Sep 17 (SocialNews.XYZ) Eighty per cent of people infected with Covid-19 in Myanmar between January 28 and September 7 are unvaccinated against the virus, the country's Health Ministry said.

Myanmar has confirmed more than 80,000 new cases of Covid-19, and more than 130 new deaths from Covid-19 during the country's fourth Covid-19 wave which started at the end of January this year, official data showed.

The total number of infections from January 28 until September 7 included 80 per cent of people who were not vaccinated, 15.9 per cent of people who received the first doses of the vaccine, 4 per cent of people who were fully vaccinated and 0.1 per cent of people who received booster shots, the Health Ministry added on Friday.

The death toll from Covid-19 during the period consisted of 84.1 per cent of people who were not vaccinated and who got only the first dose, 14.4 per cent of people who were fully vaccinated and 1.5 per cent of people who received booster shots, the Ministry said.

As Covid-19 infection was on the rise again in the country starting from August, its health authorities have urged people to receive booster shots and abide by the health guidelines issued by the Ministry to curb the resurgence of Covid-19 infections, Xinhua news agency reported.

In August, the country also reported Covid-19 cases with Omicron BA.2.75, BA.2.76, BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants after detecting the people who returned from abroad.

"The vaccinated people can boost immunity against Covid-19 and reduce death risks," Tun Min, Deputy Director-General of the Health Ministry's Yangon Regional Health Department, has told reporters.

Myanmar has already vaccinated more than 36.9 million people, or nearly more than 66 per cent of its total population, for Covid-19 as of Tuesday, official data showed.

The figures comprised more than 30.4 million people aged 18 years and above and more than 6.5 million people aged under 18-years-old, it said.

Yangon region saw the highest number of Covid-19 infections, followed by Kayin state and Mandalay region in the second place and third place respectively, its figures showed.

Countries, including China, Russia, India and Thailand, have donated Covid-19 vaccines to Myanmar, and China has been the top donor of Covid-19 vaccines to Myanmar throughout the pandemic.

Myanmar has recorded 618,303 Covid-19 infections in total since the beginning of the pandemic in the country in March 2020.

The death toll from Covid-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,444 on Friday, and a total of 594,984 Covid-19 patients have been recovered and discharged from hospitals in the country as of Friday, official data showed.

Source: IANS