Turkey administers over 72.59M COVID-19 vaccine shots so far

By Busra Nur Cakmak and Burak Dag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered more than 72.59 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to figures released on Friday.

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, over 40.85 million people have gotten their first dose, while more than 26.91 million have received their second jabs as well.

To date, 65.79% of the adult population has received at least one vaccine dose.

The ministry also confirmed 22,083 new infections and 69 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 5,752 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' 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 4.2 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 196.91 million cases reported, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.​​​​​​​