Reassure the public over ‘sudden death’ reports

UNFORTUNATELY, sudden deaths have started to make the headlines again in the TRNC recently. While the majority of sudden deaths are among people aged 50 and over, a worrying number of deaths have occurred among people in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

According to police reports, a total of 31 people fell ill “suddenly” and died from the beginning of July to midSeptember.

According to these reports, 16 of the 31 sudden deaths were determined to be from a heart attack or heart failure, while the causes of the other deaths have yet to be disclosed.

In this context, the Health Ministry formed a commission to study the causes of sudden deaths.

According to the results of the study conducted by this commission, there was no increase in deaths caused by heart disease compared to previous years.

The Health Ministry stated that out of a total of 700 deaths from the beginning of 2022 until August, most were Covid-related while 54 were due to cardiac causes.

However, the public is uneasy about this.

The number of sudden deaths, especially since the onset of the pandemic, stands out and causes concern.

The Health Ministry’s statement that there is no increase in heart diseases and sudden deaths to be concerned about did not seem very convincing due to society’s lack of trust in the government . . .

In addition, healthcare unions, associations and nongovernmental organisations explained that cardiovascular diseases and related deaths in our country have been increasing over the years.

There is a need for satisfactory explanations to alleviate society’s concerns and doubts. The Health Ministry should compile more data and provide explanations accordingly.

COVID-19 VACCINES

Another issue is the claims both here and around the world that Covid-19 vaccines may also have played a role in these sudden deaths.

These claims must be proven with scientific data and studies.

However, there is currently no scientific research and evidence confirming this claim. Because the scientific world has stressed that many tests and studies were carried out before the vaccines were implemented, billions of vaccines were made and their side effects were tracked.

In addition, we know that heart diseases have been prevalent in our country for many years.

Eating habits, smoking, stress, being overweight and leading a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of heart diseases among our people.

In addition, experts say that Covid-19 increases the risk of heart diseases.

Specialists also state that heart diseases and deaths increase in the summer months. This information also needs to be taken into account, especially in the context of sudden deaths.

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the most serious diseases in our country.

The measures that should be taken so the number of these deaths does not increase should be constantly explained by both the Health Ministry and doctors’ groups.

These diseases should not be normalised, they should not be just a statistic.

Heart diseases should keep being discussed for biological and psychological reasons.

What the Health Ministry should do is to continuously share detailed age and regional information about deaths caused by Covid-19, heart diseases, cancers and other diseases with the public.

The Health Ministry has explained that sudden deaths are not caused by Covid vaccines but for people to be convinced, they should continuously be issuing statements in a language that the public can understand.

Otherwise, the real danger and issue to be worried about is that some people may give up on vaccination.

The sudden deaths of young people between the ages 30 and 50 scare our people. In this regard, to avoid getting stressed, they want to be reassured with substantial scientific information.

Without wasting time, the Health Ministry should research the issue thoroughly and share detailed information that will comfort the public.