Experts: Turkey close to mass immunity goal
Health Minister Ilhan: We have about 60 million people aged 18 and above. We need these people to become immune.
NEW statistics show that around 9.6 million people in Turkey have had a second Covid-19 vaccine dose to date, while more than 4.5 million people have recovered from the disease since March 2020.
Experts say the country is now closer to having a 25 per cent rate of immunity due to a combination of recoveries and vaccinations.
Professor Mustafa Necmi İlhan, a member of the Health Ministry’s Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday, that, according to the World Health
Organisation (WHO), 60 to 70 per cent of the population needs to gain immunity, either by being vaccinated or infected with the virus, in order to bring the pandemic under control.
Mr İlhan said Turkey has always pursued “mass immunity” rather than “herd immunity.” The latter would entail lifting restrictions to further the spread of infections in the hopes more people will catch and recover from the virus.
“We have about 60 million people aged 18 and over. We need these people to become immune.
“Currently, we have roughly 15 million people who developed immunity through infections and vaccinations,” he noted.
The country’s vaccination campaign began with its oldest citizens, he said, explaining that when everyone over the age of 40 has been vaccinated the risk of fatalities will decrease. Currently, people aged 55 and above are eligible for vaccination.
“Chronic diseases are more common among people in their 40s and above. Statistics show that the risk of death from Covid-19 is higher for people with at least one chronic disease,” he added.