Over 60M coronavirus vaccine jabs administered in Turkey

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered over 60 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to official figures on Wednesday.

The country continues its intensive vaccination campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus as all residents over the age of 18 can choose to get either the Chinese Sinovac jab or the vaccine produced by German firm BioNTech and its US partner Pfizer.

According to Health Ministry data, more than 38.36 million people have gotten their just first doses, while over 18.42 million have received their second doses, as well.

The total number of first, second, and third dose jabs given was just over 10.94 million in Istanbul, 4.93 million in the capital Ankara, and 4.04 million in the Aegean province Izmir.

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

However, seeking to limit the spread of the Delta variant of the virus, the country has suspended flights from India, where the strain was first detected, along with Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

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