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Second batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrives in Turkey

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JANUARY 25: Containers of second batch of COVID-19 vaccines, ordered from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd., are being unloaded upon arrival at Istanbul Airport on January 25, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. ( Muhammed Enes Yıldırım - Anadolu Agency ) 

A Turkish Airlines plane which departed from Beijing landed at Istanbul Airport at 6.15 a.m. local time (0315GMT).

A total of 6.5 million doses of the vaccine were brought in the first phase of the second shipment of 10 million doses.

Samples of the Sinovac will be tested in the Health Ministry labs for approval prior to mass usage.

Turkey has signed a deal with Sinovac to buy 50 million doses to vaccinate 25 million people.

Mass vaccinations began in Turkey on Jan. 14.

Over 1.23 million people, mostly health workers and the elderly, have been inoculated.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the first to be vaccinated to boost public confidence in the vaccine.

The government has also introduced nighttime and weekend curfews to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 2.13 million lives in 192 countries and regions.

Over 99 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now over 54.7 million, according to figures compiled by US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The US, India and Brazil remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan​​​​​​​