Minister: 87 percent of active Covid patients in Turkey not fully vaccinated

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About 87 percent of the active Covid-19 cases have not been fully vaccinated, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca has said.

"In the currently active cases, the share of those who are fully vaccinated are less than five percent. Among our hospitalized patients, 95 percent are people who have not been fully vaccinated," Koca told a news conference after a meeting of the ministry's Scientific Advisory Board.

Some 25 million people in the country are fully vaccinated and over 40 million people have received at least one jab, according to the ministry's live vaccination tracker. This means that there are still more than 20 million adults who haven't got the first dose yet.

About the recent spike in coronavirus cases, Koca pointed out the people's failure to follow measures during the nine-day holiday for the Eid al-Adha, which ended on Sunday.

The number of daily cases in the country has doubled in a week, surpassing 20,000 for the first time since early May.

The trend of increase in daily cases may cause problems in many aspects, the minister warned.

"The first of these is the risk of a new variant becoming dominant and hindering our immunity program," said Koca. "The second is to return to a life full of restrictions, which we want to forget."

The country does not currently need restrictions but measures should be followed and people should get vaccinated to avoid them in the future, added the minister. (KÖ/VK)