Football clubs invite their fans to get inoculated

ISTANBUL

As Turkey’s vaccination drive against COVID-19 continues unhindered, Turkish football gi-ants called on their fans to be vaccinated for people to experience the excitement of football in the stadiums in the upcoming season.

Turkish Super League teams, including Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, and the Clubs Association Foundation, invited football fans to get vaccinated before the upcoming season.

“We roll up our sleeves for our health; we get our vaccine. Get your COVID-19 vaccine and let’s experience the excitement of football together in the stadiums with peace of mind in the 2021-2022 season,” said the football clubs whose total number of fans corresponds to almost the population of the country.

Turkey’s Health Minister Fahrettin Koca thanked the football clubs for inviting their fans to be vaccinated.

“Let’s get vaccinated so that we can go to the stadiums with a full squad,” Koca tweeted on July 19.

Turkey has administered nearly 63.32 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to figures released on July 18.

According to Health Ministry data, nearly 38.94 million people have been administered their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while over 20.74 million received their second dose.

Meanwhile, Koca warned that the number of new COVID-19 cases increased due to the envi-ronments where the transmission was easier.

“The number of new cases, which was 5,261 a week ago, is 7,680 yesterday [July 18]. A little more care maintains our holiday joy and prevents us from being sick after the holiday,” Koca noted.