Omicron Statement from Scientific Committee Member

The Omicron variant, which emerged in South Africa, caused the cases to increase again all over the world. Of course, Turkey was also affected by this situation. The Omicron variant, which spread rapidly in our country, caused a record breaking with 74 thousand 266 cases in the past days. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca also shared yesterday. in the shipment On January 15, he announced that there were 63,967. He added that fewer people were hospitalized compared to the early stages of the epidemic.

With the news we shared yesterday, for those who are not vaccinated. The PCR test requirement has been lifted.We have conveyed to you that the fields that can be entered without the test have been updated. Increasing cases and after these decisions, now a member of the scientific board, Prof. Dr. Tevfik Özlü made statements about the Omicron variant. Özlü stated that the rapid spread of the variant could create two different scenarios.

“Collective immunity can occur”

Özlü, 58, said in his statements, “The variant spread rapidly, making many people sick will build immunity. Those who do not have access to or do not want to be vaccinated can also acquire immunity by passing on the disease. He stated that a collective immunity may emerge.

In his succinct words, “If the disease is mild and unless it leads to fatal consequences Many people may develop immunity. This, in turn, may affect the course of the pandemic, and a more moderate and chronic disease may occur in the coming period. This is one of the possibilities that could arise.” He added that an optimistic scenario could occur.

“There is also the possibility of bad scenarios”

However, due to Omicron, a member of the scientific board of a bad scenario stressed that it could happen. He also stated that there may be a possibility that hospitals may be full, deaths will increase and the number of cases may reach very high levels.

In addition to these, Özlü to sports competitions also noticed. Noting that many players have tested positive for COVID-19, he used the following verbal statements:Many sports such as footballcontagion’ carries risk. It is not possible to keep the distance in the fierce struggles. There is a possibility of transmission of the disease during matches and training. Also, the same goes for the audience. The risk of transmission of the disease is high in crowded and side-by-side spectators and spectators not wearing masks.”

In short, we can say that the measures to combat the disease should not be relaxed these days, when the variant is spreading rapidly, and that this issue is still of great importance, according to experts. Many scientists draw attention to the importance of vaccines, especially the third dose, mask and distance rules, and warn people against the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.