UPDATE - Turkey administers over 808,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots in 24 hours

UPDATES WITH TURKISH HEALTH MINISTER’S REMARKS

By Sena Guler

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey administered a total of 808,351 COVID-19 vaccine shots over the past day, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

Since it launched the vaccination drive in January, the country has given over 55.34 million vaccine doses, the Health Ministry data showed.

More than 36.87 million people have gotten their first doses, while over 16.2 million are fully vaccinated.

To date, over 59.42% of the country's adult population has received at least one vaccine dose.

The ministry also confirmed 5,160 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, and 52 related deaths, while as many as 4,636 more patients recovered.

Speaking after a meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the type of vaccine is not important in acquiring vaccination certificate.

“Regardless of which vaccination you received in our country, the vaccination certificates are recognized mutually with the countries we signed an agreement,” Koca said.

People getting vaccinated in Turkey can choose between Sinovac and BioNTech jabs.

Amid a nationwide fall in virus cases and an expedited inoculation drive, Turkey has entered a new normalization phase, lifting almost all virus-related restrictions.

But seeking to limit the spread of the virus's Delta variant, it has suspended flights from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, passengers from the UK, Iran, Egypt, and Singapore are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours prior to their flight.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 3.99 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 184.82 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.