Over 120.8M coronavirus vaccine shots given in Turkey to date

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered more than 120.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January, according to the latest figures released on Saturday.

More than 56.3 million people have gotten a first vaccine dose, while over 50.6 million have been fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

Turkey has also given third booster shots to more than 12.32 million people.

Separately, the ministry recorded 20,374 new coronavirus cases, 228 related deaths, and 19,463 recoveries from the virus over the past day.

As many as 353,035 virus tests were done in the last 24 hours, the data showed.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca called on people to get vaccinated, and avoid closed places or crowded environments "in this period of increased risk."

The World Health Organization has said that the heavily mutated omicron coronavirus variant, which was recently discovered in South Africa, poses a high risk of infection surges.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 5.24 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 265 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.