Over 119.27M coronavirus vaccine shots given in Turkey to date

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has administered over 119.27 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched an immunization drive in January, according to official figures released on Saturday.

More than 56.02 million people have been given a first vaccine dose and over 50 million have been fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

Turkey has also given third booster shots to over 11.87 million people.

The ministry recorded 23,347 new COVID-19 cases, 201 deaths, and 29,163 recoveries over the past day.

As many as 352,335 virus tests were done in the past 24 hours, the data showed.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that the number of those who have received two doses of vaccine has exceeded 50 million as of Saturday.

“Two-dose vaccines currently account for 60% of the total population,” Koca added, urging remaining people to get vaccinated.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 5.14 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 256.92 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.