The coronavirus has led to many changes in both health and social areas. A wide variety of variants of the coronavirus have emerged. The symptoms of each variant vary. Since the effects of Covid-19 have decreased this year, the restrictions have been relaxed and the mask requirement has been removed. Chest Diseases Specialist, Doctor Şerife Kaya, stated that there was a decrease in Covid-19 cases, and that the number of hospitalizations in the hospital or intensive care unit decreased with the reminder vaccinations.
MORE CONTAGIOUS THAN PREVIOUS VARIANTS
Making a statement, Chest Diseases Specialist Doctor Şerife Kaya stated that while the Omicron variants of Covid-19 are showing their effect all over the country, the BA.4 and BA.5 variants are more contagious and their symptoms last longer than the previous variants, so they make people sick very easily. Specialist Doctor Kaya, who warns citizens who have never been vaccinated or who have not received the reminder dose, to give the reminder vaccination, said, “The Covid-19 pandemic continues all over the world. 3-4 months ago, the number of Covid-19 positive cases had decreased to the point that it was sporadic in our province. However, with the increase in contact and contagiousness, the number of cases increased. After the Feast of Sacrifice, when crowded infectious environments increased, the total number of positive cases in our province reached 150-200 per day. In this process, we reopened our Covid service and gave appropriate treatments to our patients with hospitalization indications and discharged them with healing.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO GET VACCINE
“The number of positive cases has been decreasing in recent days. The number of positive cases in the province is around 30-40. BA.4 and BA.5 variants, which are sub-variants of omicron, dominate this wave. We know that these variants are much more contagious and their symptoms last longer than previous variants. These variants also make people very easily sick and infecting people who have never been vaccinated or have had a reminder dose. At this point, the importance of vaccination should be emphasized. We recommend that those who have never been vaccinated get 4 sinovac or 3 biontech vaccines at appropriate intervals.
THOSE WHO HAVE THESE DISEASES MUST HAVE ADDITIONAL REMINDERS
Stating who should do the reminder dose, Chest Diseases Specialist Kaya said, “It is recommended to give the reminder dose to those who have received 2 biontech vaccines, those who have received 2 sinovac and 1 biontech vaccines, or those who have received 3 sinovac vaccines. In addition, if the risk is high for those who have had 2 sinovac and 2 biontech or 3 biontech vaccines, that is, if they are over 50 years old, if they have immunosuppressed diseases such as heart, kidney failure or cancer, if the risk of disease transmission is high, such as a healthcare worker, it is recommended to make an additional reminder dose. .
MASK WEARING MUST CONTINUE IN CROWDED ENVIRONMENTS
Making statements about what the reminder dose may cause, Kaya said, “We should not neglect the mask. We should not forget that the obligation to use masks in hospitals still continues. Again, we recommend the use of masks in crowded, high-risk environments. We know that patients who have not received the reminder dose get sick more easily, the patients have a heavy life, the risk of hospitalization is higher, and even the risk of intensive care and death in some patients is much higher. For this reason, we recommend that people definitely take the reminder dose.”