Turkey gives over 1M vaccine doses in a day

By Faruk Zorlu and Seda Sevencan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered more than 69.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to figures released on Wednesday.

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 40.1 million people have gotten their first dose, while over 25 million have received their second jabs as well.

More than 1 million vaccine doses were administered in the last 24 hours, the figures showed.

The ministry also confirmed 22,291 new infections and 76 coronavirus-related deaths over the past day, while as many as 4,197 more patients recovered.

Meanwhile, urging people to get vaccinated, in a news conference following a virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Science Board, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said: "Currently, about 87% of COVID-19 active cases are among people who have not been fully vaccinated."

Also, pointing to a "very rapid increase" in new infections in the last two weeks, Koca said 95% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, adding among the active cases, the rate of those who are fully vaccinated and got infected is less than 5%.

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 195.63 million cases reported, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.​​​​​​​