Enis Barış

Abstract Infectious diseases in childhood and adolescence are significant and often preventable causes of hearing loss, especially in low- and middle-income countries. We conducted a scoping review to examine the extent, range and nature of available evidence on the role of vaccination for prevention of hearing loss worldwide. We reviewed the published scientific literature to identify studies providing quantitative information on the relationship between vaccination and hearing loss.

It really caught my attention when a friend of mine, an otherwise healthy chest physician in his late 40s, told me recently that he almost died of pneumonia. He had to be hospitalized twice, given an IV cocktail of antibiotics each time, only to recover about a month later, totally drained and weak.

By now, it has become clear that the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic is not a one-off, unfortunate event but the beginning of a new era in global health and security. We are also coming to grips with the new post COVID-19 reality, likely to be somber unless we, the global community, get our act together to prepare and respond to its longer-term effects. With 150 million cases and 3 million deaths, still mounting, the urgency is evident.