”There is no single form of safety in an insecure environment, ” is the message of the doctors with a clear call that everyone who has not done so so far should be vaccinated, because that is the only way for us to return to normal life. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is still at the bottom of the column in terms of the number of vaccinated in Europe.
“Somewhere around 30 percent are vaccinated against Covid with the first dose, just over 26 percent with the second dose, which is still far from our optimal goal,“ said Aida Ramic-Catak, Assistant Director of the Federation of BiH (FBiH)Public Health Institute (PHI).
“Vaccines are not perfect, but they are the best thing we have now for saving lives, and the greater the coverage, the faster we will return to normal life, not to mention how many lives we will save,“ mentioned Abel Baltic, Director General of the Canton Sarajevo (CS) Public Health Center.
Epidemiologist Sanjin Musa warned that we should be concerned about the spread of the omicron variant of the virus. He reminded that it is already registered in 70 countries.
“We can see Omicron is dominant when it comes to delta variants, which is shown especially in the United Kingdom (UK)and Denmark. There is a very serious threat that we will face an escalating situation again in the first months of 2022,“ told Sanjin Musa, epidemiologist of the FBiH PHI.
Coronavirus also has consequences for the health of young people, so it is necessary for that population to be vaccinated, pediatricians pointed out. According to the recommendations of the expert advisory body of the FBiH, they can be vaccinated from the age of 12.
“Why should children be vaccinated? Well, they can get sick too, and they can get severe form. Children can have a condition where multiple organs fail. Children can have postcovid syndrome when symptoms can last from a month to three. Children are carriers of the disease,“ explained Lutvo Sporisevic, a pediatrician at the Public Health Center of CS.
The importance of vaccination is emphasized because it protectsagainst diseases from which the consequences can be incalculable when people get sick in old age. Regarding the vaccine against covid-19, it was stressed that insufficient coverage is among the most at-risk group, and those are older than 60, where 50 percent of them have not been vaccinated.