23 million Turks still not vaccinated amid concerns of fourth wave in pandemic
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on July 25 urged citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible, saying 23 million people have not yet received any of the jabs, while 17 million people have not yet received their second shots. Koca's remarks came amid concerns that a fourth wave in the COVID-19 pandemic might be on the way with the end of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Duvar English
Turkey's daily COVID-19 cases jumped to 12,381 on July 24, amid concerns that a further surge might be on the way with the end of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
Experts have recently expressed their concern about images of crowded resort towns and large family gatherings during the one-week public holiday.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible, saying 23 million people have not yet received any of the jabs, while 17 million people have not yet received their second shots.
He also said that nine million people who are eligible to receive their thirds shots have not yet applied to a health institution.
"We need to accelerate the process to be able to receive the result that we want from the vaccination. The current problem is the relaxing of measures," Koca wrote on Twitter on July 25.
Infections remain well down from a wave in April-May when new COVID-19 cases peaked above 60,000. They fell to 4,418 on July 4 in the wake of a stringent lockdown that ended in mid-May. Most of the last restrictions were lifted this month.