İngiltere'deki Türk doktorlardan ‘Aşı Yaptırın’ çağrısı

Hayatını İngiltere’de sürdüren Dr. Mekella Mehmet Yeşil, Dr. Fulya Yahioğlu ve Dr. Akan Effe, Covid-19 virüsüne karşı ülkede devam eden aşılama kampanyasına destek verdi.

Aşılanmanın önemine vurgu yapan üç hekim, Kıbrıs Türk Toplum Derneği (TCCA) adına hazırladıkları Türkçe ve İngilizce makalede, “Aşı olmak hiç bu kadar önemli olmamıştı” diyerek Türk toplumuna bir makale ile aşının önemini anlattı.

MAKALENİN İNGİLİZCE METNİ:

Dr Mekella Mehmet-Yesil Turkish Cypriot PhD Covid 19 Ambassador, Dr Fulya Yahioglu PhD and Dr Akan Effe MD PhD

“On behalf of Turkish Cypriot Community Association (TCCA)

Who would have thought that in 21st century England it would take a global pandemic to change the way we live and work? The impact of COVID-19 has been particularly harsh on our community with an increasing death toll amongst the Turkish population, we are seeing no end to this evil virus, which shows no signs of discrimination whatsoever.

However, as the world starts to vaccinate millions of people every day, the UK is currently ranked fourth in terms of vaccinating its population in line with its global neighbours

Already 12,214,000 people aged 69 and over have been vaccinated in the UK.

Vaccination has been around for centuries and is a safe and effective way to prevent disease and save lives – now more than ever. Today there are vaccines available to protect against at least 20 diseases, such as diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza, and measles. Together, these vaccines save the lives of up to 3 million people every year.

It is important to note that when we get vaccinated, we are not just protecting ourselves, but also those around us. Some people, like those who are seriously ill, are advised not to get certain vaccines – so they depend on the rest of us to get vaccinated and help reduce the spread of disease. Never has it been so important to get vaccinated.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination continues to be critically important for our Turkish Cypriot community. Although most will take up the vaccine, some are reluctant due to on-going misinformation and scaremongering on social media causing both anxiety and reluctance to take up the vaccines. In order to reassure the community, we want to debunk these conspiracy theories and eliminate this fear so that our community can make better informed choices.

HOW DO VACCİNES WORK?

Vaccines reduce the risks of getting a disease by working with your body’s natural defences to build protection. When you get a vaccine, your immune system responds. It does this by:

Recognising the invading germ, such as the virus or bacteria

Producing antibodies. Antibodies are proteins produced naturally by the immune system to fight disease. (T Cells)

Remembering the disease and how to fight it. If you are then exposed to the germ in the future, your immune system can quickly destroy it before you become unwell.

The vaccine is therefore a safe and clever way to produce an immune response in the body, without causing serious illnesses.

Vaccines work by training and preparing the body’s natural defences – the immune system – to recognize and fight off viruses and bacteria. If the body is exposed to those disease-causing pathogens (virus/bacteria) later, it will be ready to destroy them quickly – which prevents illness.

Our immune systems are designed to remember. Once exposed to one or more doses of a vaccine, we typically remain protected against a disease for years, decades or even a lifetime. This is what makes vaccines so effective. Rather than treating a disease after it occurs, vaccines prevent us in the first instance from getting sick. Which is why it is important to be vaccinated.

When a person gets vaccinated against a disease, their risk of infection is also reduced – so they are also less likely to transmit the virus or bacteria to others. As more people in a community get vaccinated, fewer people remain vulnerable, and there is less possibility for an infected person to pass the pathogen on to another person. Lowering the possibility to circulate in the community, protecting those who cannot be vaccinated either due to having serious health conditions, allergies, or because of their age, from the disease targeted by the vaccine.

Currently Pfizer and Oxford AstraZeneca are being offered as part of the mass vaccination programme in the UK, which have both met stage 3 Clinical trials and have been approved for use by the Medicines & Regulatory Health Authority (MHRA) in the UK and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in the US.

Subsequently as reputable doctors and researchers in the community we ask that if you are invited to be immunised, then please take up the offer and attend your appointment. This is especially important for those in our community who are elderly and/or are clinically vulnerable. The more people that get vaccinated the more protection we will have within our community and the better our chances of returning to a normal way of life.

Get vaccinated to protect yourself, your loved ones and the community.”