Turkey has administered over 63.8M COVID-19 vaccine shots

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered over 63.8 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 spread of the coronavirus, and all residents aged 18 and over are eligible for vaccine shots.

According to the Health Ministry, over 39 million people have received their first dose, while over 21.14 million are fully vaccinated.

To date, 62.89% of the adult population has received at least one vaccine dose, with a total of 150,917 vaccine doses administered over the past day.

The ministry also confirmed 8,780 new infections and 46 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 4,561 more patients recovered.

Amid a nationwide drop in cases and an expedited vaccination drive, Turkey entered a normalization phase on July 1, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.

However, seeking to limit the spread of the virus' Delta variant, the country has suspended flights from India, where the strain was first detected.

Meanwhile, arrivals from the UK, Iran, Egypt, and Singapore are required to have negative COVID-19 test results within 72 hours before their departure.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 4.1 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 191.16 million cases reported, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.