Ayse Yildiz
02 June 2021•Update: 02 June 2021
ANTALYA, Turkey
More than a million people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Turkish resort city of Antalya.
A total of 1,007,920 doses have been administered to some 73% of the target population, according to Unal Huldur, the provincial health director for Antalya.
“We used this lockdown period to our advantage by boosting vaccinations in our province; our immunization drive has continued without any letup,” he told Anadolu Agency.
He said the efforts have had a positive impact and brought about a significant decrease in the number of cases.
According to Huldur, 73.2% of Antalya’s target population has received a first vaccine dose and 55% have been fully vaccinated.
Some 87.8% of healthcare workers, 85.8% of people above 65, and 81.6% of people working in nursing homes have been vaccinated.
The immunization drive is progressing rapidly in Antalya, a major local and global tourist hub.
Along with healthcare professionals and the elderly, provincial authorities have also given priority to tourism workers, teachers, police and gendarmerie personnel, court officials and employees, journalists, people with chronic diseases, and spouses of health workers.
Persuasion teams have also been set up by the provincial health directorate to raise awareness among those hesitant about COVID-19 shots.
Ferit Turgut, the chairman of the Mediterranean Region Representation Board of the Union of Turkish Travel Agencies, pointed out that vaccination drives have been carried out to create “green zones” in Europe.
“Having such green zones in Turkey will have positive effects on our entire economy, tourism, and health. According to the latest statistics, some 60% to 70% of all tourism sector employees have been vaccinated, which is a very encouraging sign,” he said.
Turkey has so far administered over 29.22 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January.
An ongoing normalization process has seen restrictions being eased this month, with in-person dining allowed in restaurants, daily curfew now running from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and a full lockdown on Sundays.
*Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara
