DM Monitoring
ANKARA: Turkish doctors hailed the launch of the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine drive, saying that with this immunization process, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel to end the global pandemic.
Turkish health workers got first jabs of vaccine as the nation of 83 million population started a mass vaccination program with the Sinovac vaccine developed by China. Some 790,000 health professionals across the country have received the vaccine as of Monday, according to the Turkish Health Ministry. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca received the first shot of the vaccine live on television after the approval of the emergency use of the vaccine. He was followed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who received the vaccine at a hospital in Ankara on Thursday.
Erdogan praised the vaccine while trying to raise awareness and acceptance of the inoculation program. He told reporters on Friday that he had been feeling good and will take the second dose of the vaccine in 28 days.
“This is hope for everyone. We experienced difficult times in our struggle against this disease but now we have an effective tool to fight against COVID-19,” Cinar Gule, a virologist at Ankara University hospital, told media.
The doctor said that after taking the vaccine, she did not feel any side effects at all and that she was completely fine, while her other colleagues had mild side effects such as fatigue or muscle pain.
