ISTANBUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has so far administered 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as part of the nationwide vaccination campaign launched in mid-January, the Health Ministry announced on Thursday.
According to the latest data of the ministry, 47.6 percent of the population has received two doses of vaccine in the country of 83 million.
Hasan Murat Gunduz, a member of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Committee, said the vaccination ratio has not yet been at a level to end the pandemic, and at least another 10-15 percent of the population should be fully vaccinated.
Gunduz told reporters that the regular vaccination would continue for another two years to strengthen herd immunity.
Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged citizens to get their third doses to be better protected from the coronavirus.
"About 6 million more citizens became eligible to receive their booster shots," he said in a written statement, adding that nearly 90 percent of active cases in hospitals are people who have not been vaccinated or received only one jab.
So far, over 9 million people have been vaccinated with third vaccine doses. Those who have received three shots account for less than 2 percent of the overall COVID-19 cases, said the minister.
