Number of vaccine jabs given in Turkey exceeds 96.8M

By Ahmet Gencturk and Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - The number of coronavirus vaccine jabs given in Turkey has exceeded 96.8 million since the country launched an immunization campaign in January, indicated official figures released on Saturday.

Over 49.39 million people have gotten their first vaccine dose, while more than 38.15 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

The data showed that 79.55% of the country's adult population has received at least one dose of a two-shot vaccine.

Turkey has also given third booster shots to over 8.9 million people.

Turkey has administered a total of 382,825 doses of COVID-19 vaccines over the past 24 hours.

The ministry also reported 20,033 new coronavirus cases, while as many as 278 more people died of the disease in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Fehrettin Koca reiterated plans for in-person education in the country to resume as of next Monday.

The country decided to introduce new set of measures that will also go into effect on Monday.

People who have not been vaccinated or have not recently recovered from the coronavirus will have to submit a negative PCR test to travel between provinces vie airplane, bus, and train.

​​​​​​​Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 4.55 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 220 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.