Experts urge people to get booster shots as cases rise

ISTANBUL

With the number of weekly coronavirus infections, which was 26,635 last week, having surpassed 57,000, experts once again warn citizens to get their booster shots if six to eight months have passed since the final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

As per experts, a factor that largely contributed to the increase in the number of COVID cases is the lifting of the face mask mandate on public transport and closed areas.

“In case of mild fever with a sore throat, malaise and headache, it is an important precaution to be individually isolated until these ailments pass so that the virus does not spread,” Ateş Kara, a member of the Coronavirus Science Board, told daily Milliyet.

“We ask people with such complaints to get tested, wear face masks and isolate until their situation is clear,” Kara said, adding that it would be better to wear a face mask during crowded and long trips.

The risk of carrying viruses to chronic patients and the elderly should not be forgotten, said Vedat Bulut, the secretary-general of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), reiterating that it is necessary to continue to wear face masks in closed and crowded environments.

“We should be careful in public transport and shopping malls; if we don’t, we could face a grave consequence at the end of summer,” Bulut said.

“The rate of those who received the third and fourth dose of vaccines is at a low level in Türkiye.

We, especially, recommend patients with obesity, cancer, chronic lung and diabetes to take precautions,” the expert said.

If six to eight months have passed since the final dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, getting a booster shot is a must, according to Bulut.

“If the increase in the number of infections continues worldwide, there would be a risk of new variants emerging,” the expert added.

The sub-variant of Omicron, BA.2.75, is spreading rapidly in the world, and no observation has been made yet whether the symptoms and course of the variant are different from the others, according to the experts.

The variant, first detected in India last month, has already spread to at least nine countries.

A total of 57,113 COVID-19 cases were reported in Türkiye between June 27 and July 3, the Health Ministry said in its weekly coronavirus statistics.

According to the ministry’s data, 25 COVID-19 patients lost their lives, while more than 30,478 people recovered from the infection.

The number of cases reported between June 20 and 26 was 26,635, the number of patients who lost their lives was 17, and the number of those who recovered was 11,256.

Since the first COVID-19 case was reported in March 2020, the coronavirus has infected more than 15 million people and killed nearly 100,000.