“So far, the number of health workers getting the first doses has crossed 100,000. Turkey has a strong infrastructure for implementing a vaccine program. I would like to thank all those who believe in this strong infrastructure and support it,” Koca tweeted earlier on Thursday.

In November, Turkey's Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca announced the country had signed a contract to buy 50 million doses of CoronaVac for delivery in December, January, and February.

The first 3 million doses of CoronaVac arrived in Ankara's Esenboğa Airport in 17 containers on December 30.

The Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency approved Sinovac for emergency use on 13 January 2021 with the start of inoculation on the next day with health workers and high risk personnel. (ILKHA)