OPINION

A new Covid row

Re: "'Respirators' needed to deal with new variant", (BP, Dec 27).

ML Rangsithorn Bhanubandh's op-ed calling for the widespread use of respirators to beat Covid variants is misleading.

Rangsithorn writes that "neither vaccine boosters... nor currently-recommended surgical masks, offer realistic protection against the Omicron strain," whereas in fact booster jabs offer at least 70% protection and masks are accepted as effective worldwide.

He says that protection against Omicron from the booster "rapidly drop[s] to 25% within three months."

But Omicron was only discovered a month ago, so long-term data does not yet exist.

He also says that "any infection... carries a high risk of long-term disability and illness for all people, especially small children."

It's not clear if he is referring to any Covid infection, or all infectious diseases, though in either case the statement is incorrect.

There are many infections that do not lead to long-term disability, and children have a much lower risk of Covid infection.

He cites "research from the Max Planck Institute in Germany" though this research was not related to Covid.

Nevertheless, he says that respirators "will prevent virtually all infections happening today and end all super-spreader events", as if respirators were some kind of panacea.

Publishing misleading medical information written by writer who seems to have no medical qualifications is potentially harmful.

Re: "Hijab not oppressive", (PostBag, Dec 27).

Kuldeep Nagi went to extraordinary lengths to justify the hijab. All very interesting and well researched, but Khun Kuldeep has wasted his time in trying to defend the indefensible.

What, if anything, women should or not wear to cover their heads is self-adornment or as custom/habit requires.

Enlightenment has reached some Muslim countries, but the underlying fact of life for Muslim women is that they must be covered in public spaces.

We know what severe public horrors can be meted out if Muslim men are so offended. It is a male-inflicted injustice and it is this which causes such intolerance of Muslim treatment of their women folk.

Re: "Trying times ahead for Thai leadership", (Opinion, Dec 28).

As an earnest reader, I wish to thank Kavi Chongkittavorn for yet another deep, intriguing, steeply intellectual analysis of Thai politics, the role of Asean and the yin-&-yang between the world's two main superpowers, America and China.

Yet I could not help but think that the true analysis of what Thai leadership will face in 2022 is so simple. Becoming addicted to tourist dollars over several decades, Thailand now has few other economic options.

The financial malaise will last for years, with vast human suffering. The public will grow dissatisfied as the nation performs poorly.

In the meantime, Thai leaders have traded moral legitimacy for short-term stability, and it is inevitable that the whole thing will eventually come down like a house of cards.

Regardless of who is prime minister, it is likely that "the Year of the Tiger" may be more like "the Year of the Screw," because of several decades of bad policy choices and lacklustre performance. So much for a Happy New Year.