Over 117.31M coronavirus vaccine shots given in Turkey to date

By Ali Murat Alhas and Dilan Pamuk

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered over 117.31 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January, according to official figures released on Saturday.

More than 55.61 million people have been given a first vaccine dose, while over 49.15 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

Turkey has also given third booster shots to over 11.36 million people.

Separately, the ministry recorded 27,474 new coronavirus cases, 203 related deaths, and 30,584 recoveries over the past day.

As many as 358,326 new virus tests were done in the last 24 hours.

Turkey also continues its efforts to finalize tests of its locally developed Turkovac vaccine, which the president has vowed to share worldwide once it is ready.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 5.04 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 249.36 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.