* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the appointment ceremony in the capital city of Ankara yesterday (January 26).
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Referring to the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the country, he praised the healthcare infrastructure of Turkey, while noting that even the most developed countries were facing shortages.
With 9.5 million CoronaVac vaccines having arrived in Turkey so far, the country's only procurement plan for the COVID-19 vaccine is with China's Sinovac company and it has not yet had a clear vaccination schedule.
However, President Erdoğan indicated that "Turkey had overcome the outbreak with the least hardship."
'We test inclusivity of our social support system'
"Even as most developed countries face shortages, Turkey is receiving COVID-19 vaccines rapidly and progressing with its public vaccination drive," said Erdoğan, briefly adding the following:
"The strength of Turkey's service infrastructure and the magnitude of its social state feature manifest themselves much better in times of crisis.
"We have not only seen the strength of our healthcare infrastructure and general health insurance during the pandemic, but also tested the inclusivity of our social support system."
As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Erdoğan said:
"Thanks to the steps we have taken on the vaccine and the payments we made, we have started to get our vaccines quickly, and hopefully, 50 million doses of vaccine will come to our country in the first phase. We have also quickly launched the inoculation process, which still continues."
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Erdoğan added that this year's budget for social support expenditures was more than 81 billion Turkish Liras (over 11 billion US dollars).
Disability employment quota in public sector
Speaking at a ceremony where young people and the disabled were appointed to public service positions, Erdogan said that Turkey filled up to 82 percent of its disability employment quota in the public sector.
From just 5,777 in 2002, when the ruling AKP came to power, "we boosted the number of disabled civil servants to 58,319," he said.
About COVID-19 vaccination in Turkey
Turkey on Monday (January 25) started to vaccinate people over 80 years old as part of its countrywide immunization drive for the coronavirus.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has confirmed that senior citizens would be vaccinated in line with planning by the Coronavirus Science Board.
According to official ministry figures, Turkey has so far vaccinated more than 1.4 million people, most of them healthcare staff.
As many as 6.5 million doses of China's CoronaVac vaccine was also delivered to Turkey on Monday.
A plane carrying the second batch of a COVID-19 vaccine ordered from China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. arrived early Monday in Istanbul, Turkey.
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.
Mass vaccinations began in Turkey on January 14, 2021 after the first batch of 3 million doses of the vaccine developed by China's SinoVac Biotech company arrived in Turkey on December 30, 2020. Later, a second consignment of 10 million doses was approved. .
Minister Koca and President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the first ones to be vaccinated in a stated attempt to "boost public confidence in the vaccine."
Since last month, Turkey has been imposing curfews on weekdays and at the weekend as part of its efforts to curb the virus' spread. (DŞ/SD)
