BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.9
By Chingiz Safarli - Trend:
The number of people infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) in Azerbaijan may increase in autumn, and so vaccination should be accelerated, expert of the Center for Public Health and Reforms under the Ministry of Health, Konul Ismayilova, told Trend.
According to Ismayilova, the number of coronavirus infection cases in the world is growing, and this tendency is also observed in countries neighboring Azerbaijan.
Given that COVID-19 is transmitted by air, this will naturally have an impact on the situation in Azerbaijan, she said.
As the expert noted, the reason for the increase in COVID-19 infection is the abolition of a number of quarantine rules and the partial resumption of tourism activities.
"Besides, the infectiousness of the new strain of coronavirus is extremely high, and it spreads easily among people. If the rules are neglected, the pandemic can drag on. Therefore, we must continue to take protective measures,” Ismayilova said. “I would recommend visiting crowded places as rarely as possible.”
She further said that the results of international studies indicate high mortality and infection rates for those, who have not been vaccinated.
"According to researches of Public Health England, the effectiveness of protection against coronavirus after receiving the first dose of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines is 71 and 94 percent, respectively, and the second - 94 and 96 percent,” the expert noted. “UK epidemiologists believe that during the growth of social contacts, that is, in the fall, the number of infected people may increase. Therefore, vaccination should be accelerated.”
“If the number of infected people in Azerbaijan continues to grow at such a pace, in this regard, the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers will take appropriate decisions. It’s impossible to predict what decision will be made based on the analysis of the current situation," Ismayilova said.
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