Vaccine reduces severe virus cases, study finds

The hospitalization rate and need for treatment in intensive care units (ICUs) among people who have received a vaccine against COVID-19 is low, a study carried out by Turkey's Health Ministry Science Board has found. 

The board has completed its work on the effects of the injection developed by the Chinese pharmaceuticals company Sinovac.

The study was conducted after 15 million doses of the vaccine had been administered. We examined the people who contracted the virus after receiving the first and the second dose, Prof. Dr. Sema Kultufan Turan from the Science Board told daily Hürriyet.

Only 2,500 people who were injected the jab contracted the virus, she said, noting that that included those who failed to follow anti-virus rules and those had COVID-19 14 days after the inoculation.

Almost none of those 2,500 people applied to hospitals nor were required treatment in intensive care units, according to Turan.

Before the vaccinations started, some 18 percent of COVID-19 patients aged 65 and above needed to be admitted to the ICUs, but this figure dropped below 10 percent and the situation is the same with health care workers, Tufan added.

Turkey launched its vaccination drive on Jan. 14, starting with the frontline health care staff and the elderly. The country is now using both Sinovac and the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.

The vaccination in Turkey achieved a significant success. Thus, the inoculation drive should continue to be carried out in an effective manner and gather pace, she added.

Tufan also pointed that more and more people aged between 20 and 65 are being admitted to hospitals due to the virus. 

We have to curb the spread of the outbreak, she said.