As pandemic picks up speed, Turks still confused on vaccine

Despite clear warnings from health officials regarding the onslaught of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, the Turkish public continues to struggle with confusion over whether or not to receive vaccinations.

The Turkish health minister has warned that mid-January would be too late for effective flu vaccinations. An official from the World Health Organization, or WHO, has said the H1N1 pandemic is on the edge of spreading rapidly across Turkey.

“[Turkey] has not confronted the worst of the situation yet. We expect increases in the number of [total] cases, cases involving hospitalization and deaths,” said Professor Jonathan Nguyen Van Tam, the European region adviser to the WHO, the Anatolia news agency reported on Saturday. The number of deaths due to the H1N1 virus exceeded 100 in Turkey as of late Monday.

Confusion continues to plague Turkey’s approach to the swine flu vaccination even though members of risk groups started receiving preliminary vaccinations earlier this month and Health Minister Recep Akdağ once again advised the public not to delay receiving the vaccine, this time in an interview with daily Milliyet on Monday.

“We know the virus can spread very quickly in next two months,” Akdağ said. “Some people say that I am creating panic by saying this, but no, the science community has given us the information. The date that WHO gives is December and January.” According to Akdağ, the total number of cases has reached 1 million, although he said giving an exact number is impossible.

Akdağ highlighted the importance of the vaccine as a precaution. “If we can convince people in significant numbers to get the vaccine, then we can break the virus’ transmission speed. In January, I guess it would be too late. If people come and say ‘vaccinate me’ after Jan. 15, we will do it but it would not work that well,” he said.  

Experts said many people are confused about whether or not to have the vaccine. Media reports have published conflicting information regarding the vaccine’s side effects and its effectiveness. Furthermore, while the health minister was attempting to outline the need for the vaccine, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared that neither he, nor his family, would be vaccinated.

“The statement by the Prime Minister confused people much more. It was unfortunate for Turkish society,” said Dr. Gündüz Tezmen.

The vaccination is the issue that people are most confused about, according to Dr. Haluk Eraksoy, head of the Turkish Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. “Risk groups should be vaccinated. Debates over the vaccines were more than necessary, which awakened people’s suspicions. Even though it appears that all the suspicions were baseless, the confusion still goes on,” Eraksoy said. Risk groups include children from 6 months to young people below the age of 25, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, and people who cannot be allowed to be at risk of being infected, like health workers and security officials.

Today 65 million people have been vaccinated around the world and there have been no unexpected side affects, said Dr. Hande Harmancı, the education project coordinator on pandemics from WHO. Speaking to private new channel NTV, Harmancı said vaccines are safe and effective. “Vaccines are critical for public health and it is necessary to trust them,” she said.

Akdağ called on people to stop receiving information from the Internet and follow advice from doctors. “I know that 90 or 95 percent of doctors will say ‘be vaccinated.’ Naturally there are doctors who are not literate on health issues. They might say ‘I will not intervene,’ but this is rare. If everyone decides to ask a doctor, I am sure the majority of them will get the vaccination,” Akdağ said.

Schools shut down

Meanwhile many schools around Turkey have put education on hold due to the pandemic. In the Central Anatolian provinces of Bilecik and Kütahya, in the western province of Bursa and the southern province of Adana, schools were closed until December. The 3.5-day-long breaks were connected to the Bayram break, resulting in school closures until December.  

Meanwhile, hospitals are finding it difficult to sustain the increased load of patients, including those with serious cases of swine flu and panicking people whose health concerns are not critical. A 9-year-old child who needed intensive care in Adana could not find a single, empty bed in a hospital or in nearby provincial hospitals. The Adana State Hospital has decreased visiting times from one hour to 15 minutes as a precaution against the flu.

In a recent press statement, the Turkish Physicians Association, or TTB, warned that emergency services in hospitals are currently in a state of chaos because the flu pandemic arrived at a time of pre-existing weaknesses. “Due to weaknesses in pandemic management and wrong messages to the public, people with the flu immediately came to hospitals, rightfully. Due to the panic created by the flu, the flu has become the ‘most emergent disease’ in Turkey,” TTB said.