Fatima Meirkhanovna Shaizadina, Ph.D., professor of public health and biomedicine, has held an online seminar on topical issues of coronavirus infection. Teachers and students and of our university have visited the seminar. The current statistics on COVID-19 in the world and Kazakhstan has been also presented there.

The professor pointed out the mechanisms and ways of COVID-19 transmission and noted that the isolation of the pathogen from the patient can begin 48 hours before the onset of the disease and maximum in the first 1-3 days from the onset of the disease, lasts up to 12 days in mild / moderate cases and for more than 14 days in severe cases.The risk of infection through the contact with infected person is 1-5%  in the case of close contacts.  75-85% of infection occurrence happens within the family. In 80-85% of the population, the infection is mild. The lethal outcome is 3-5%.

During the autumn and winter seasons, joint expansion of influenza and COVID-19 poses a great threat to health. The pressure on hospitals will be greatest if the COVID-19 and influenza epidemics overlap and peak at about the same time. The quarantine and restrictive measures carried out in the country against the spread of COVID-19 can have a dampening effect on influenza.

In this regard, prevention measures such as masks wearing and social distancing are especially important. Influenza vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent an epidemic. Currently, flu vaccinations are being carried out in polyclinics and Professor Fatima Meirkhanovna urged the audience to be vaccinated, and thereby prevent the possible spread of the virus and prevent a more severe course of the disease.