Over 29 million doses of jab administered
ISTANBUL
The total number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Turkey has exceeded 29 million doses.
The country rolled out its inoculation program in mid-January, starting with health care workers and the elderly.
Since then, it has been gradually expanding the scope of the inoculation drive to cover more age groups and people at risk.
Last week, people with disabilities started to receive their doses of the coronavirus jabs. The vaccinations of the citizens aged above 50 will commence as of June 1.
As the delivery of additional batches of Pfizer/BioNTech jab is in the pipeline, authorities aim to intensify the inoculation drive during the summer months.
Encouraged by the recent decline in the daily number of COVID-19 cases thanks to the lockdown implemented from April 29 till May 17, including other extensive anti-virus measures, the country aims to bring the outbreak under control by autumn.
According to data from the Health Ministry, nearly 16.6 million people have received their first dose of the vaccine, while more than 12.4 million people have been fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 has infected over 5.2 million in Turkey since it was first detected in mid-March 2020. To date, the pandemic has claimed the lives of over 47,000 people.
