Over 54.57M coronavirus vaccine shots given in Turkey to date

By Dilan Pamuk and Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered over 54.57 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to official figures released on Tuesday.

More than 36.58 million people have gotten their first doses, while over 16.04 million have received their second doses, the Health Ministry count indicated.

"The course of the pandemic has been changing. The fight will continue until we achieve social immunity through vaccines," said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Twitter.

According to ministry data, 881,75 doses of vaccine were administered over the past 24 hours, and to date over 58.9% of the country's adult population has gotten at least one vaccine dose.

The country also confirmed 5,299 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, and 37 deaths, while as many as 4,446 more patients have won the battle against the virus.

Amid a nationwide fall in virus cases and an expedited inoculation drive, Turkey has entered a new normalization phase, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.

But seeking to limit the spread of the virus's Delta variant, it has suspended flights from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, passengers from the UK, Iran, Egypt, and Singapore are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours prior.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.98 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with nearly 184.2 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.