By Burak Bir and Beyza Binnur Donmez
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered nearly 115.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
Some 55.3 million people have been given a first vaccine dose and more than 48.3 million have been fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.
Turkey has also given third booster shots to more than 11 million people.
The ministry recorded 29,643 new cases, 215 fatalities, and 31,467 recoveries over the past day.
As many as 356,636 more virus tests were done in the last 24 hours, the data showed.
Stressing on Twitter that when COVID-19 is combined with chronic disease, the probability of severe illness rises, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reiterated his call for people to get fully vaccinated.
Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 4.96 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 244.3 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.