Turkey administers over 16 million doses of vaccine in June
ISTANBUL
Turkey administered more than 16.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in June alone, accounting for more than a third of all jabs given since the country’s inoculation drive was rolled out in mid-January.
To date, nearly 15 million people have been fully vaccinated while over 31 million people have received their first doses of the coronavirus jab.
Turkey’s inoculation program started with the vaccinations of health workers and the elderly. Over the months, it has expanded the program’s coverage by adding new profession and age groups.
Since mid-June, Turkey has been administering more than 1 million doses of the vaccine a day, even reaching a record high of more than 1.5 million doses on June 21 only.
The vaccination drive gained further momentum as people aged 18 and over started to receive their first doses of the COVID-19 jab on June 25.
After the inoculation of those aged 18 and above, Turkey will move to the fourth and the final stage in the vaccination program.
In this stage, those who did not receive their shots even though they were eligible will be given the coronavirus injections.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the country, which has a population of some 86 million, aims to vaccinate 55 million people with at least one shot by mid-July.
To date, nearly 46 million doses have been administered, with nearly 31 million having received their first shots.
Authorities are even mulling a plan to start administering the third dose of the COVID-19 jabs next month.
As part of its campaign, dubbed “Let’s roll up our sleeves for our health,” designed to encourage people to get vaccinated, the Health Ministry has been running videos which feature musicians, actors and other celebrities.
The vaccination rates stood at as high as 69 percent in the northwestern province of Edirne, at 68 percent in the northern province of Amasya, at 67 percent in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir and the western province of Çanakkale, Koca said in a Tweet on June 25.
Data from the Health Ministry show that nearly 8.4 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Istanbul, home to some 16 million people, while in Ankara over 3.8 million doses have been given to the city’s residents.
Since the first case was recorded in mid-March last year, COVID-19 has infected some 5.4 million people in Turkey, killing over 49,000 people.
