Free flu vaccinations offered in Bangkok

BANGKOK, August 21 (TNA) - The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has offered free vaccination service against human influenza to people in the capital and called on the public to take care of themselves during the rainy season presently. Methipoj Chatametheekul, Director of the Communicable Disease Control Division, under the BMA's Health Department, told journalists of the free service on Monday, saying that the free flu shots are offered at all eight hospitals and 68 public health centers in the capital under the supervision of BMA, apart from all government-run hospitals. Methipoj particularly encouraged people in risk groups, including pregnant women, infants aged 6 months to two years old, the elderly aged 65 years old upwards and patients of persistent diseases or illnesses, namely diabetes and HIV cases, to have themselves vaccinated against the human flu or immediately see the doctors if they have flu-like systoms, like serious headaches and muscle pain. The senior BMA official's remarks followed a recent report issued by the Ministry of Public Health's Department of Disease Control, stating that human flu cases have mostly been recorded in Rayong Province in the Thai East, followed by Bangkok, Chiang Mai Province in the Upper Thai North, Lop Buri Province in the central region and Uttaradit Province in the Lower Thai North. According to the BMA senior official, most of the human flu cases currently are those infected with the H3N2 virus, which can be prevented 30-40 per cent by the flu vaccinations. Official BMA statistics show that since the beginning of the rainy season this year, there have been more than 5,500 human flu cases as of July, most of them have been workers in business firms and students. The senior BMA official urged the public to take good care of themselves and members of their families, including frequent washing of their hands, wearing face masks while feeling ill and avoiding close contacts with flu patients and staying away from crowded places. (TNA)