Azerbaijan was one of the first countries in the region to launch the coronavirus vaccination process. On January 18, the first target group got vaccinated.
Those wishing to be vaccinated are divided into several categories, including age groups. Priority was given to health care workers and persons over 65.
Vaccination applicants registered online at https://randevu.its.gov.az/, those who could not register electronically, called the polyclinic, which helped them take place at an online queue.
As of March 16, a total of 458,958 people had been vaccinated against coronavirus in Azerbaijan.
According to the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan, vaccination continues successfully in all regions of the country. The head of the agency, Tayar Eyvazov, said that a lot of false information about vaccines is spread on social networks and it is unfortunate that someone wants to cast a shadow over the process of fighting the coronavirus.
"Information like that is unbelievable. So far, the Ministry of Health has not received any information about further complications of the vaccine. We are informing the population once again that in case of a reaction to the vaccine, they must apply to the relevant medical institution," Eyvazov said.
According to him, more than 400 thousand citizens of Azerbaijan have already been vaccinated, and thousands of people apply to the medical agencies for vaccination every day.
"I hope that each of us will feel the effect of vaccination in the near future. Let's defeat this infection together and get back to normal life," Eyvazov said.
Virtually every doctor shares the idea that the only way to defeat the coronavirus is through vaccination. Zakir Guliyev, the head of the therapeutic department of the Baku Health Center, addresses the population and says that there is nothing dangerous.
"Everyone should be vaccinated. I have many patients from the risk group. At first, they were worried too, but after the vaccination, they called and thanked us. None of the vaccines had any side effects," he said.
Guliyev added that although the vaccine does not provide 100 percent protection against the new strain of COVID-19, vaccinated people are more likely to transmit the disease.
"During the day, we had contact with 30-40 patients with coronavirus. We had many difficulties before the vaccine was introduced. So my health was practically in danger. Vaccination against COVID-19 was the only solution," he said.
The specialist received the first dose of the vaccine on January 26 and the second on February 23. He had mild muscle pain for two days after the first dose, which he said was completely natural.
"Overall, I feel great," Guliyev said.
Hikmet Hajiyev, an adviser to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, had no side effects.
"I also got vaccinated against COVID-19, and I did not experience any side effects," he said at the international webinar "COVID-19 Pandemic and the Geopolitical Aspects of Vaccination," adding that nationalizing vaccination is a serious issue.
Vaccination is recommended to the population by Azerbaijani MPs who have already been vaccinated.
"I voluntarily went to the polyclinic, where I am registered, and got vaccinated against COVID-19. I feel good," said Fazail Aghamali, a member of the Milli Majlis.
No complications were observed in police officers who successfully passed the vaccination phase.
"We have been vaccinating police officers for several days now, and no side effects have been reported in any of the vaccinated. We contact the patients a few days after the vaccination and check their condition. Everyone is feeling well," said Tukiazban Azizova, the head nurse at the hospital's surgical department.
Religious people are also vaccinated. Ganji Shahin Hasanli, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Division, posted photos on the social network of him getting vaccinated at one of the medical institutions.
Doctors call the population for vaccination and say that there is nothing dangerous in it, and minor side effects are a completely natural phenomenon.
"After the injection, there is a slight redness at the injection site; there is a pain in the muscles and bones. Ten days after the first dose, the body begins to fight the coronavirus. The vaccine is 95% effective after the second dose. If 5% of the body develops resistance, the coronavirus carries the disease more easily," said Abdo Balikcioglu, a doctor at the Albert Einstein University Clinic in the United States.
He says that the virus can only be defeated with vaccines, so he advises everyone to get vaccinated.
"The pandemic will not end until everyone is vaccinated. If 70-75 percent of the population is vaccinated, the virus will gradually weaken and disappear," he said.
