Turkish authorities considering ways to give boost to vaccinations

ISTANBUL

Turkish authorities are considering ways to give a boost to vaccinations against COVID-19 as the long Eid al-Adha holiday this month and summer vacations are expected to slow the pace of the inoculation drive

Efforts to accelerate the inoculation will particularly intensify in August and officials aim to give at least one dose of the vaccine to 50 million people aged above 18 by September.

There are around 60 million people in this age group in Turkey.

Officials noted that some 300,000 doses are given daily in the country and reckon that younger people are less willing to get their coronavirus vaccines.

Turkey recently lowered the eligibility age for the COVID-19 vaccine to 16.

Authorities are concerned that summer vacations will slow the jab drive at a time when the Delta variant of COVID-19 is posing a serious threat.

Officials believe that the number of infections will rise by the end of July and the Delta variant may account for more than 40 percent of all cases due to the normalization and the increased mobility during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

No additional restrictions are expected to be introduced this summer, according to authorities.

They, however, suggest that in the wake of the long holiday the daily cases, which recently plateaued at around fewer than 6,000, could increase to 7,000 and that some measures could be considered before the schools reopen in September to bring the spread of the virus under control.