Bangkok, February 8 (VNA) - The Thai Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Medical Sciences said on February 8 that the new Omicron sub-variant CH.1.1, which has been detected in 67 countries including Thailand, can evade immunity produced by long-acting antibody (LAAB) vaccines but its rate of transmission is low.

The department chief, Dr. Supakit Sirilak, said there is concern that CH.1.1 might prove detrimental to the efficiency of the LAAB shots that are used for those who have a compromised immune system, such as those with chronic kidney disease, cancer and organ transplant patients, the Bangkok Post reported.

He said that LAAB shots are still effective as a treatment to enhance human immunity against the COVID-19.

The department is closely monitoring virus mutations and will reduce complications in monitoring for virus mutations by using whole genome sequencing every two weeks, instead of conducting the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genetic test for specified sub-variants./.