President calls on citizens to get Covid vaccine

Photo: AA/File

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President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on citizens to get the coronavirus vaccine for Turkey to be stronger in the economy, social life and trade.

"As a country that has taken the pandemic under control to a considerable extent ... we have reached the feast in a bit better conditions this year," Erdoğan said in a video message ahead of the Sacrifice Feast (Eid al-Adha).

"Our biggest weapons of defense against the pandemic are the measures of hygiene, mask, distance and vaccination. Thankfully, we are on a good level in vaccination compared to the world average," the president said, adding that Turkey has currently no problems in vaccine procurement.

After struggling with a vaccine shortage for months, Turkey speeded up its vaccination campaign in June, following a deal with Pfizer-BioNTech.

Turkey has so far administered over 62 million vaccine jabs with more than 20 million people fully vaccinated, according to the Health Ministry's tracker. 

Turkey also plans to introduce its domestically produced coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year, Erdoğan further noted.

"I invite all of our citizens to benefit from the vaccination service that we now provide to everyone over the age of 18," said the president. "It's still unknown who this disease will catch ... So, it's a must that we protect ourselves against this insidious threat by keeping precautions and getting vaccinated."

Cumhurbaşkanı @RTErdogan: "Kurban Bayramı'nın hepimizin kurtuluşuna, gönlümüzden geçenlerin gerçekleşmesine vesile olmasını diliyorum." pic.twitter.com/WYqAw3C54v

— T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı (@tcbestepe) July 19, 2021

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