Turkey starts offering 5th dose of COVID-19 booster shots

 The Health Ministry started offering the fifth booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines for a specific group of people, the ministry said Friday.

Individuals who received two doses of the Chinese Sinovac and two doses of the BioNTech vaccine at least three months ago will be able to get an appointment for the fifth dose.

They will be able to receive the Sinovac, BioNTech or the domestically-made Turkovac vaccines as a booster.

Turkovac, a domestically developed inactive COVID-19 vaccine, is finally available to the public after receiving emergency use approval. On Thursday, city hospitals became the first venues for inoculation with Turkovac, and the vaccination program with the local jab is expected to expand to all hospitals and other venues within weeks.

Experts also hope that the domestically-developed vaccine will eliminate vaccine hesitancy in the country.

Over 83% of people over the age of 18 have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 91.6% received a single dose.

The number of shots administered in the country has reached well in excess of 1.3 million doses according to the ministry.

https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/turkey-starts-offering-5th-dose-of-covid-19-booster-shots/news