By Seda Sevencan
ISTANBUL (AA) – The number of people who have not received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine dropped to 21.9 million, the Turkish health minister said on Thursday.
Fahrettin Koca announced on Twitter that over 1.09 million people received coronavirus vaccine doses on Wednesday.
Koca went on to say that 222,803 people received their first dose, 680,278 have been fully vaccinated, while 195,924 got their third dose.
Amid a nationwide drop in cases and an expedited vaccination drive, Turkey entered a new normalization phase on July 1, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.
However, seeking to limit the spread of the virus’s Delta variant, the country suspended flights from India, and required arrivals from the UK, Iran, Egypt, and Singapore to have negative COVID-19 test results taken within 72 hours prior.
Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 4.18 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with over 196.105 million cases reported, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.