Turkey administers over 68.7M COVID-19 vaccine shots so far

By Merve Berker, Burak Bir, and Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered over 68.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to figures released on Tuesday.

The country continues its intensive vaccination campaign to curb the virus’ spread, as everyone 18 and over is eligible for vaccine shots.

According to Health Ministry data, nearly 40 million people have gotten their first dose, while over 24.5 million have received their second jabs as well.

Meanwhile, over 1.2 million vaccine doses have been administered in the last 24 hours, the figures showed.

The ministry also confirmed 19,761 new infections and 51 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 7,108 more patients recovered.

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 over 4.17 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with nearly 195 million cases reported, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.