‘It is a misconception to associate omicron with the expectation for a mild disease'

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The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) Central Council and the TTB Pandemic Working Group released a written statement yesterday (January 25) and called on all citizens to get fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as soon as possible.

The TTB has underlined that as of January 24, 2022, Turkey ranked seventh in the world and fifth in Europe in terms of the total number of COVID-19 cases and it ranks ninth in the world in terms of new cases. The Association has noted that even according to the official data of the Health Ministry, Turkey is still reporting high numbers of COVID-19 deaths.

The TTB has stressed that the country has reported the significant part of its death toll in the past six months, briefly saying: "24.2 percent of total deaths happened between March 11, 2020 and December 31, 2020; 33.5 percent happened between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 ad 42.3 percent happened between July 1, 2020 and January 18, 2022."

The TTB has explained that while one fourth of the deaths occurred in the first nine months of the pandemic, the number of deaths reported in the past nine months has almost doubled in comparison.

Risks of hospitalization and death

The TTB has also underlined that COVID-19 may be experienced as a severe disease in case of old age or by immunocompromised people, noting that "associating the omicron variant with an expectation for a mild disease may bring out the destructive effects of the process."

Criticizing Health Minister Fahrettin Koca's statement on January 24 for ignoring the heavy load on the healthcare system and the groups who could experience COVID-19 as a severe disease despite being fully vaccinated, the Turkish Medical Association has indicated that "regardless of the variant, vulnerable groups, the ones who have not been vaccinated or have not received their booster shots, those who have entered the less protective phase of the vaccine, the ones with old age or immunocompromised people face the risk of hospitalization or death."

The Association has underlined that "the inferences replacing facts with expectations and wishes, thereby leading to complacency, are considered to cause irreversible losses and difficult processes."

Against this backdrop, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has called on all citizens to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible, reminding them of the importance of wearing masks, keeping one's distance from others and ventilation to be protected from the disease. (AS/SD)