Health officials had planned to purchase 43 million doses of the vaccine and had signed agreements with drug companies to that effect.The ministry released a report on Tuesday to update the status of the swine flu pandemic in Turkey and around the world. It predicted that based on past epidemics, one out of every five people in Turkey will have been infected by the swine flu virus by the time the pandemic subsides. According to the report, swine flu incidents in Turkey reached a peak in the last week of November and have been on the decline since.
As for swine flu fatalities in Turkey, estimated to number at least 500, the ministry said 59 percent of those who died of swine flu had been suffering from a chronic disease but 34 percent were healthy before being infected by the virus. The weeks of Nov. 23-29 and Dec. 7-13 saw the highest number of deaths resulting from swine flu. “While the seasonal flu caused the worst complications among the elderly and in those with chronic diseases, swine flu was a more serious problem for healthy individuals below the age of 50, for children and for pregnant women,” the report said.
Making predictions on the future course of the epidemic, the report said it is likely to have ups and downs but the general trend is that incidents of swine flu are on the decline. Noting that close to 6.5 million people are thought to have been infected by the swine flu virus in Turkey thus far, the report said this expected fluctuation is linked to weather conditions and the time people spend in closed areas. Stating that swine flu is expected to follow a course similar to that of the seasonal flu in the winter, the report said its prevalence is likely to decrease in the summer. The ministry once again said vaccination is the best way to protect one’s self from swine flu and added that Turkey had taken delivery of 8 million doses of the vaccine, with almost half of this already administered.
