Turkey receives second batch of CoronaVac vaccines

Turkey received the second batch of CoronaVac vaccines early on Jan. 25. A total of 6.5 million doses of the inactive COVID-19 vaccine were brought in the first part of the second shipment of 10 million doses.

Monday January 25 2021 10:00 am

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.

Duvar English - Anadolu Agency

A plane carrying the second batch of China's CoronaVac vaccine arrived early Jan. 25 in Istanbul.

The Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 plane, which departed from Beijing, landed at Istanbul Airport at 6.15 a.m. local time (0315 GMT).

Containers containing the vaccine were taken from the aircraft after customs procedures and moved to warehouses.

A total of 6.5 million doses of the inactive COVID-19 vaccine were brought in the first part of the second shipment of 10 million doses.

A day earlier, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the delivery.

“In line with our purchasing plan, the vaccine shipments to Turkey will continue smoothly," Koca tweeted on Jan. 24.

İnaktif aşıların 10 milyon doz olan 2. sevkiyatının ilk bölümü (6.5 milyon doz) aşılar pazartesi sabahı ülkemizde olacak. Tedarik planına uygun olarak teslimatlar aşı programı aksamadan devam edecek şekilde elimize ulaşacak.
— Dr. Fahrettin Koca (@drfahrettinkoca) January 24, 2021

Mass vaccinations began in Turkey on Jan. 14 after the first batch of 3 million doses of the vaccine developed by China's SinoVac Biotech arrived on Dec. 30. Later, a second consignment of 10 million doses was approved.

Over 1.23 million people, mostly health workers and elderly people, have been inoculated since Jan. 14.

The health minister and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were among the first ones to be vaccinated to boost public confidence in the vaccine.

The government has also introduced nighttime and weekend curfews to stem the spread of COVID-19.