Skopje, 25 August 2021 (MIA) — As the fourth wave of Covid-19 puts more pressure on the health care system, some local doctors have been spreading pseudoscience and misinformation about the vaccine, about public health protection measures, and the consequences of the virus, the Doctors Chamber of North Macedonia wrote in a press release Wednesday. In the release, the Doctors Chamber is calling on medical experts and authorities to take urgent steps to mitigate the harmful consequences of such misinformation to people’s health. “Health workers should share opinions based on scientific facts and withhold sharing speculations and unchecked information. It’s always important, and especially during a pandemic, for health care professionals to act according to the Ethical Code, the Law on Health Care, and evidence-based medicine, distancing themselves from any sort of political influence,” the release says. Vaccination is the most effective virus protection, and it’s been scientifically proven it significantly reduces the odds of infection and severe complications from the illness, according to the Doctors Chamber, which also highlights the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding indoor gatherings. "In the absence of national protocols," the Doctor’s Chamber says, "institutions, experts and doctors’ associations who conduct continuous medical education, specializing in areas closely related to the treatment of infectious diseases and the prevention of their spreading, should share expert opinions with the public for all open questions and dilemmas, so citizens can draw their own conclusions and form opinions based on facts as opposed to misinformation." “The lack of such opinions leaves room for free interpretation of irrelevant sources, harming the vaccination process, which in turn hinders efforts to put the pandemic under control,” the Doctors Chamber says. “Each health worker has an important role in the creation of public opinion, and they influence others' opinions through sharing their personal opinions in public." The Doctors Chamber urges the public to report misinformation, adding it has the authority to act upon received complaints "and determine the facts by communicating with all affected parties, authorities, committees and expert associations" before taking legal steps. dk/mr/