Turkey has given nearly 75.9M coronavirus vaccine shots so far

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey has administered nearly 75.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to official figures released on Saturday.

The country continues its intensive vaccination campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as everyone 16 and over is eligible for vaccine shots.

According to the Health Ministry, nearly 41.7 million people have gotten their first doses, while more than 28.7 million are fully vaccinated.

Turkey is also administering third COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, and over 5.49 million such doses have been given.

To date, 67.15% of the country's adult population has received at least one dose of the two-step vaccines.

The ministry also confirmed 25,100 new infections and 112 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 6,758 more patients recovered.

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

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 4.28 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with some 202 million cases reported, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.