It has been 19 years since the World Health Organization declared the Covid 2 Pandemic all over the world. The decision made on March 11, 2020 deeply affected all humanity.
During this time, approximately 650 million people worldwide became ill with the disease. 6 million people died. Turkey ranked 8th in the world in the total number of cases.
Although the number of cases has decreased in the last wave caused by the Omicron variant, an average of 60 people die in Turkey with 100 thousand new cases per day.
Although vaccination rates have increased, children between the ages of 7 and 11 are still unvaccinated.
While 62% of the population was vaccinated with 2 doses, the rate of those vaccinated with 3 doses remained at 32%.
In the fight against easily transmitted variants such as Omicron, the vaccination rate should be at least 85%. This shows that the required level of herd immunity has not yet been achieved.
In the week of February 19-25, the case rate in Istanbul was 646 per hundred thousand. It was stated that the recent relaxation decisions actually pose a risk despite this number of cases.
IMM Scientific Advisory Board evaluated the latest decisions. It was stated that the HES application and the removal of the mask requirement in the open air will pose a risk due to the free circulation of people with the virus, and the mask and distance rule has become more important than ever. The following expressions were used in the statement?
There should be a distance of at least two meters in order to avoid risk in the open air. Masks must be worn in crowds. Masks should always be used in closed areas. Particles circulating in the air in the form of droplet nuclei can infect people even at a distance. The statement that "there is no need for masks in properly ventilated closed areas" is misleading. It is not possible to say that "appropriate ventilation" conditions are provided in environments where devices such as carbon dioxide sensors that can measure indoor air quality regarding whether ventilation is appropriate or not, or where the quality, capacity and frequency of fresh air discharge of ventilation devices are not used.
N95 or FFP2 masks should be used instead of simple surgical masks in closed areas with heavy crowds and in workplaces where many people work.
It has been confirmed that vaccines protect against death and serious illness. Therefore, people over the age of 65 and with additional diseases should definitely take the reminder dose 3 months after their last vaccination, and 6 months after young people and healthy people.
In the statement of the IMM Scientific Advisory Board, the situation of health workers was also evaluated. The following comments were made:
Due to the ongoing epidemic, our physicians and health workers are tired and are experiencing burnout.
As a society, we owe a great debt of loyalty to our scientists, physicians and all health workers who have carried all the burden of the epidemic in the last two years. At the beginning of the epidemic, when there was no protective equipment yet, and there was no vaccine yet, they rushed to the aid of the patients, risking their own and their relatives' lives, they were separated from their families for months, spent sleepless nights, got tired, fell ill. During this process, 553 healthcare workers lost their lives, and we commemorate them with longing and gratitude. Despite this, Covid-19 is still not recognized as an occupational disease.
The disregard of the great efforts of our physicians and all healthcare professionals despite the adverse working conditions, and the statement that there will be no loss if they go, upset the healthcare professionals before the upcoming Medicine Day.
Managers who take care of the health of our people; It is necessary to know the value of the self-sacrificing services provided, to improve their working conditions, to increase their wages in return for their efforts, and to urgently prevent violence against healthcare workers.
The fight against the epidemic will definitely be won with the struggle of our healthcare professionals who will regain their rights, our people meticulously complying with masks and distance measures, adequate ventilation of indoor environments, and reaching the level of social immunity with widespread vaccination.
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