Turkey should speed up vaccinations to avoid new peak, say doctors

Turkey should speed up vaccinations to avoid a new peak in September, Muharrem Baytemür, Secretary General of the Ankara Chamber of Medicine said.

“Instead of restrictions such as curfews for the upcoming period, people should be persuaded to vaccinate,” Baytemür said, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The country has fully vaccinated some 18.3 million people and another 20 million have received the first of two required doses, according to Health Ministry figures. Turkey has a population of about 84 million.

“More than 90 percent of the fatalities in Turkey are the people who did not have two doses of the jab. That's why we need to speed up the vaccination process. It would be a chance for us not to peak, with this vaccination level,” Baytemür said.

Turkey registered 6,285 new cases and 46 deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday, official data showed.