Turkey lowers COVID-19 vaccine eligibility age to 18

Turkey on June 23 lowered the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility age to 18, with appointments to be scheduled as of Friday, the country's health minister said.

Addressing a news conference after a meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Fahrettin Koca said Turkey aims to vaccinate 55 million people with at least one shot by mid-July.

Responding to a question about new variants of the virus, Koca said 134 cases of the Delta variant, which was first detected in India, were confirmed in 16 provinces. No cases of Delta Plus variant has been detected yet, he added.

Meanwhile, Turkey's expedited vaccination drive continues. It administered nearly a million shots in the last 24 hours, according to the latest figures.

In total, the country has given nearly 44.6 million doses since it launched a mass inoculation drive in mid-January.

More than 29.92 million people have received their first doses, while nearly 14.65 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

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