President Erdoğan receives Covid vaccine, dismisses anti-vaccination campaigns

Photo: AA

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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

"I believe that especially if all political leaders, MPs encourage the [application of] the Covid-19 vaccine, it will be the right [decision]," he told reporters.

Erdoğan added that members of the AKP Central Decision and Executive Board were also vaccinated along with him.

#Video | Turkish president gets COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/C6CEw8VHET

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"Of course, there are those who carry out negative campaigning but I believe that my nation with its common sense will never give them that opportunity," Erdoğan said after receiving the vaccine. "And in the light of science and wisdom, my nation will give the best answer via vaccination, especially in this period of the coronavirus trouble."

He also said that so far over 250,000 healthcare workers got vaccinated against the virus across the country. Underlying healthcare workers' efforts on the frontline, Erdoğan hailed their fight against the disease.

Countrywide vaccination campaign

Earlier in the day, health workers launched the first phase of the countrywide Covid-19 vaccination drive.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca yesterday (January 13) became the first person to receive the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine in the country. Following the minister, the committee members of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board were vaccinated as well.

According to data from the Health Ministry, Turkey has 1.1 million health workers who will be vaccinated within a month.

Two doses of the vaccine will be administered 28 days apart. Those who recovered from Covid-19 will not be vaccinated in four to six months following their recovery.

Yesterday, Turkey's official drug and medical equipment body approved CoronaVac for emergency use against the novel coronavirus.

The first batch of 3 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine ordered from China's SinoVac Biotech arrived in Turkey on December 30. (EKN/VK)