Turkish health minister urges public to get COVID-19 booster jabs.
COVID-19 booster shots increase protection against the disease, Koca said late Wednesday. In a written statement issued after a virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board that advises the government on pandemic measures, Koca said people who have received three shots account for less than 2% of the overall COVID-19 cases in the country. Nearly 90% of active cases in hospitals are people who have not been vaccinated or received only one jab, he explained, adding that only 10% of fully vaccinated people are currently receiving hospital treatment. It is also expected that those who received two doses of mRNA vaccines will require a booster shot five to six months after being administered the second dose, he said.
“About 6 million of our citizens are eligible to receive their booster shots,” Koca stated, calling on the public to “not waste time” getting vaccinated.
Turkey has administered over 100 million COVID-19 vaccines since launching its immunization campaign in January, according to official figures released on Wednesday. Over 50.8 million people in Turkey have received their first doses, while more than 39.5 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said. The data showed that at least 81.6% of the country’s adult population has received at least one dose of a two-shot vaccine. Turkey has also given third shots to over 9.2 million people.
Two key steps to counter the coronavirus – getting fully vaccinated and complying with the individual safety measures – will prevent new variants from emerging, according to a Turkish infectious diseases physician.
