The Prevalence of COVID-19 Infection in Students and Staff at a Private University in Thailand by Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Detection Assay

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the suspension of all university courses which was followed directly by the implementation of online learning in Thailand. However, online learning was not suitable for all of Thailand. Rangsit University is a famous private university in Thailand and has been affected by this crisis, so it attempted to eliminate online learning by offering vaccination and antigen rapid screening tests to the students and staff who had to attend the university from July to September 2021. 93.71% of the students and staff from Rangsit University who attended the university from July to September 2021 were vaccinated. Only 1.18% of the students and staff were infected. The vaccines used were CoronaVac and AstraZeneca at 66.02% and 33.98%, respectively. The percentage of individuals that were infected after vaccination did not differ between the two vaccines. The percentage of people infected was 0.31% for CoronaVac and 0.29% for AstraZeneca. Other important factors that influenced the infection rate were the initial symptoms and the environment. Individuals who had initial symptoms and had visited areas with high-risk factors had a high possibility of becoming infected. This research is intended to be useful for risk management during the COVID-19 crisis.