Undersecretary of The TRNC Ministry of Health Assoc. Dr. Deren Oygar announced that 40,000 doses of AstraZeneca, 10,000 Pfizer-BioNTech and 1,000 doses of Johnson&Johnson vaccines sent by the EU for Turkish Cypriots arrived in the TRNC today.
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Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, Head of the Upper Committee on Infectious Diseases, Assoc. Dr. Deren Oygar announced that 40,000 doses of AstraZeneca, 10,000 Pfizer-BioNTech and 1,000 doses of Johnson&Johnson vaccines sent by the European Union (EU) for Turkish Cypriots arrived in the TRNC today.
A total of 118,850 doses of vaccines were received from the Metehan border crossing through United Nations (UN) officials, including 21,50 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech, 68,700 doses of AstraZeneca and 29,000 doses of Johnson&Johnson.
So far, 350,530 doses of vaccines have been sent from Turkey, including 340,000 Sinovac and 10,530 Pfizer/BioNTech brands.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Oygar said that a meeting will be held at the Ministry of Health regarding the vaccines received today, and that the organization of vaccines will be evaluated primarily for who can benefit and the necessary notification will be made to the vaccination centers.
As of today’s data of the Ministry of Health, 43 percent of the country’s population received the first dose and 40 percent had both doses of the vaccine.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Oygar made statements to the Turkish Agency Cyprus (TAK) regarding the work carried out on the fight against coronavirus (Covid-19), the latest situation in vaccination in the country and the integration of the country into the implementation of the “Digital Covid Certificate”.
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“CASES ARE PREDOMINANTLY DUE TO THE BRITISH VARIANT”
In his assessment of the recent increase in the number of cases in the country, Undersecretary of Health Oygar pointed to the country’s opening up to tourism, crossings from the South and the country’s own openings by relaxing coronavirus (Covid-19) measures in the country, and said that “it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of cases when there is an opening in the country”.
“WE MUST CONTINUE TO COMPLY WITH THE PRECAUTIONS EVEN IF WE ARE ACHILLES”
“We need to continue to comply with the measures. Even if we’re vaccinated, we have to follow the rules of masks and social distancing. When social distancing is lifted in crowded environments, the transmission becomes more.”
Deren Oygar explained that detection kits and analyses continued to be carried out to determine the prevalence of delta variant in cases with high worldwide contagion of the virus with the detection of the highly contagious Delta variant in the country, and also confirmed the results by sending them to Turkey. However, Oygar explained that the cases in the country now originate predominantly from the “British variant”.
“20-29 AGE GROUP FIRST IN CASES; 30-39 AGE GROUP IN SECOND PLACE”
Undersecretary of Health Oygar stated that there are currently cases in the country, mainly in places with entertainment sector and touristic activities, as well as among students and young populations, explaining that the 20-29 age group ranks first and the 30-39 age group second. He said the age group with the fewest cases was 70 years and older.
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“70% OF HOSPITALIZED PEOPLE ARE UNVACCINATED”
While there were more cases of citizens of third world countries in May, Oygar noted that the majority of cases are now TRNC citizens, adding that 70 percent of the cases in hospitalizations in the country are currently without unvaccinated.
“THE GREATEST WEAPONIZATION IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INFECTION”
In light of the recent increase in cases in the country, the Upper Committee on Infectious Diseases made a number of new decisions last week, stressing that vaccination is the “biggest weapon” in the fight against the epidemic, Undersecretary of Health Oygar said.
“Last week we increased some measures. We’re trying to encourage vaccination. The biggest weapon against the epidemic is vaccination, then wearing a mask and paying attention to hygiene with social distancing. We can defeat this virus by gaining social immunity by being vaccinated.”
“TREATMENTS MAY INCREASE ACCORDING TO THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CASES IN THE COUNTRY… CLOSURE IS OUT OF THE QUESTION RIGHT NOW”
Oygar pointed out that measures could be increased based on the increase in covid-19 cases in the country, but said there is currently no closure in the country.
Oygar stated that the closure is related to the burden of the country’s health system in the fight against the epidemic, adding that they regularly evaluate this issue and that there is no need to close at this time. Oygar also pointed out that with vaccination in the country, cases are milder, reducing the burden on the health system.
Oygar also urged people who have been vaccinated not to stop complying with Covid-19 measures, pointing out that “according to some scientific research, people who are vaccinated are still able to transmit the disease, despite their immunity.”
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3. DOSE EXPOSURE
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Oygar also informed about the studies carried out by the Ministry of Health regarding the efforts carried out by the Ministry of Health on the ability of people who have had two doses of Covid-19 vaccine and who have been 6 months past to get a dose of vaccine, explaining that all health workers have now received the 3rd dose vaccine, known as the “reminder dose”.
Oygar said the majority of health workers with reminder vaccines are Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines from Turkey, while some are from Sinovac or AstraZeneca vaccines available in the country.
Oygar also noted that the remaining Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after vaccination of health workers are given to people with chronic diseases and people over the age of 75 who are among the priority groups.
“WE LIST PRIORITY LINKS THAT ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST DELTA VARIANT IN FAMILY ENTRIES”
“The first rule is that people who will get a 3rd dose of the vaccine will be given which vaccine,” Oygar said. Do whatever vaccine you can find. From the very beginning, we have vaccinated step by step, taking into account age and risk groups, whichever vaccine we have as a policy. Do whatever vaccine you can to gain immunity.”
Pointing out that there have been several publications that suggest that mRNA and Viral Vector vaccines are “more effective” in delta variants, Deren Oygar said, “We evaluate them and we take initiatives. We specify priority vaccines to be effective against delta variants. Studies are being carried out on this subject.”
Oygar also said they are consulting on vaccines from Turkey on Friday and are awaiting feedback on which vaccines and how many doses of vaccines will arrive.
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“FIRST PRIORITY IS THE FAMILY OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN… SOME OF THE SOCIETY HAS NEVER BEEN OPENED”
Deren Oygar pointed out that there is no scientific data on the necessity of the 3rd dose vaccine, but there is a view that the reminder dose will increase immunity, adding that initiatives have been launched to reach the country with sufficient number of vaccines and RAPEL vaccines can be made with the arrival of vaccines.
“The first priority is to vaccinate people who have never been vaccinated. Right now, some of the community hasn’t been vaccinated yet. 50-60 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to ensure social immunity in the country.”
Oygar also said vaccination under the nationwide vaccination program has been reduced to 16 years and older. Pointing out that the world’s pharmaceutical agencies have approved the vaccination of the Covid-19 vaccine over the age of 12, Oygar also stated that in order to vaccinate 12-18 year olds in the country, the Ministry will need to increase its vaccine supply initiatives.
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“DIGITAL COVID CERTIFICATE”
Oygar also explained the work carried out by the Ministry on the integration of the country into the “digital vaccine certificate” system to facilitate the safe travel of those who have been vaccinated in the TRNC. Ada Pass has reached the technical infrastructure that can see the information in the digital vaccine certification systems of the EU, South and Turkey. The technical infrastructure, QR code, which can exchange information on this subject, is ready.”
Oygar said that the integration of the country into the implementation of the digital Covid certificate, which will allow safe travel of those who are vaccinated in the TRNC; He also said it would be discussed at a meeting of the Bi-Communal Health Technical Committee, which is expected later this week.
