Over 120.9M coronavirus vaccine shots given in Turkey to date

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered more than 120.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January, according to the latest figures released on Sunday.

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 12.34 million people.

Separately, the ministry recorded 19,357 new coronavirus cases, 185 related deaths, and 24,278 recoveries from the virus over the past day.

As many as 350,937 virus tests were done in the last 24 hours, the data showed.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that the number of coronavirus cases dropped below 20,000 after "great efforts and dedication." He called on people to get vaccine shots and that "we must not compromise."

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 5.25 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 265.5 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.