The Social Significance of Vaccination and Infodemia in the Context of COVID-19

Öz

The most important preventive health services for the individuals, one of the fundamental steps in protection and promotion of public health, is immunization. Vaccination has many benefits for both public health and socioeconomic aspects. Vaccines rank at the top of the most important breakthroughs in public health in the twentieth century. Currently, humanity is afflicted with a new pandemic. Today, humanity is in trouble with a new pandemic. There is no medication known to cure COVID-19 completely. It is currently treated symptomatically. Besides the social struggle such as social isolation, hygiene, mask, distancing, our sole weapon is vaccination and herd immunity. In countries succeeding in vaccinating against Covid-19 in the world, the rates of infection, need for intensive care and hospitalization and death toll are decreased with increases in vaccination rates above a certain level. However, recently, anti-vaccine attitudes, discourses and behaviors have started to constitute the agenda. It is vital to be vaccinated to protect the population from vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Therefore, vaccine hesitancy, anti-vaccine and infodemic must be combated.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Vaccine
• Anti-vaccine
• COVID-19
• Infection
• Herd Immunity
• Infodemic

Günümüz Pandemisi Özelinde Aşılamanın Toplumsal Önemi

Öz

Toplum sağlığının korunmasında ve yükseltilmesinde önemli basamaklardan biri olan kişiye yönelik koruyucu sağlık hizmetlerinin en önemlisi bağışıklama ve dolayısıyla da aşılamadır. Aşılamanın sadece toplum sağlığı alanında değil, sosyoekonomik açıdan da pek çok faydaları söz konusudur. Aşılar 20. yüzyılda halk sağlığı alanında gerçekleştirilmiş en önemli başarılar listesinde ilk sıradadır. Dünyamız ve insanlık tarihi günümüze değin pek çok pandemi deneyimlemiştir. Günümüzde ise insanlığın başı yeni bir pandemiyle derttedir. COVID-19’u kesin olarak tedavi ettiği bilinen bir ilaç henüz piyasada yoktur. Toplumsal mücadelenin yanı sıra (sosyal izolasyon, hijyen, maske, mesafe gibi) tek silahımız aşılama ve toplumsal bağışıklığın sağlanmasıdır. Dünyada Covid-19’a karşı aşılamada yol almış ülkelerde, aşı oranlarında belli bir düzeyin üzerine çıkan artışlarla, enfeksiyon, hastaneye yatış, yoğun bakım ihtiyacı ve ölüm oranlarında bir azalma etkisinin başladığı görülmektedir. Hal böyleyken son zamanlarda aşı karşıtı tutumlar, söylemler, davranışlar gündemi meşgul etmeye başlamıştır. Sonuç olarak aşılanmak ya da aşılanmamak bireysel bir karar değildir. Toplumu aşı ile önlenebilir bulaşıcı hastalıklardan korumak için aşılanmak önemlidir. Dolayısıyla aşı tereddüdü, aşı karşıtlığı ve infodemiyle mücadele edilmelidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Aşı
• Aşı Karşıtlığı
• Covid 19
• Enfeksiyon
• Toplumsal Bağışıklık

Kaynakça

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