‘Anti-vaccination in Turkey has turned into a form of violence,’ warns Prof. Toker

"My body, my decision" - * Photo: Tunca Öğreten

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The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has shared information about the healthcare workers who died of COVID-19 in Turkey.

In a statement on its social media account, the TTB has underlined that the cessation of healthcare workers' deaths from the disease thanks to effective vaccination is valuable data for safe vaccination.

According to the TTB, while 435 healthcare workers (29 health workers a month on average) lost their lives in Turkey before June 2021, when most health workers had been fully vaccinated in the country, the number of deceased health workers has been 26 in the last four months.

The TTB has indicated that of the 26 healthcare workers who have died of COVID-19 in the last four months, 13 of them were not vaccinated at all while 10 had not yet received the booster shots.

"One of the health workers who had been effectively vaccinated was known to receive immunosuppressive treatment. The vaccination data of two healthcare workers cannot be accessed," the TTB has added.

"Don't forget; COVID-19 can be prevented by full vaccination," the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has warned the healthcare workers, underlining that the groups who were vaccinated against the virus earlier than others, such as the healthcare personnel and the elders, are not considered to be fully vaccinated unless they receive the booster shots.

Anti-vaxxers' rally and freedom of expression

Vaccine hesitancy and anti-vaccination were also the main issue discussed at this week's "What we are curious about during the pandemic" program of the TTB Pandemic Working Group, where political philosopher Prof. Nilgün Toker was a guest on the 24th episode.

Commenting on the issue, Prof. Toker talked about the "Great Awakening" rally of the anti-vaxxers in İstanbul's Maltepe on September 11:

Expressing opinions can be considered within the scope of freedom of expression; however, given that democratic freedom of expression has been restricted in today's Turkey to a considerable extent, it is not consistent that the government considers an attitude aimed at hindering public health to be within the scope of freedom of expression.

According to Prof. Nilgün Toker, "the fact that the rally was held has made it visible that the struggle against the pandemic is not waged within the framework of public health and public good" in Turkey.

Approaching freedom and freedom of expression from the perspective of human rights, she has said that "freedom does not mean 'being free' and it is closely related to awareness and values of living together."

Underlining that public health should also be understood in this way, Nilgün Toker has stated, "What we call public health or the right to a healthy life is not only about how you relate with health; it is also related to the health of everyone, to the health of others."

Toker has stressed that vaccination is an important tool in preventing this disease, underlining that "in the current situation, anti-vaccination has come to a malicious position encouraging hate crimes." According to Toker, "anti-vaccination in Turkey has turned into a form of violence."

Concluding her remarks, Prof. Nilgün Toker has emphasized that the process that is called the "post-truth era" has made the truth invisible and anti-vaccination has been living on this ideological approach.

She has indicated that the public authorities should act responsibly about this issue as well, raising concerns that they do not bear this responsibility.

Touching upon the debates on "mandatory vaccination" as a last word, Toker has briefly said: "If physicians and public authorities say, 'People should get vaccinated,' it means that we are talking about a necessity there. Therefore, if it is said that something should be done, the arrangement should be done accordingly." (KÖ/SD)