By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey has slowed the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations to an explosive start last week, but could accelerate again after delivering vaccinations to the elderly in care homes and at their homes, the program coordinator said .
The nationwide launch of the CoronaVac vaccine, manufactured by Sinovac of China, reached 1 million people in its first week.
After 600,000 health workers were vaccinated in the first two days, the rate dropped to about 100,000 people a day as the campaign moved to nursing homes across the country.
“Logistically enough, our capacity is very high. The current dose numbers are significantly low for us,” program coordinator Tarkan Mustafa Yamanoglu told Reuters on Wednesday.
The need to “properly administer” vaccines and limit contact to prevent the spread of infections were other factors that limited the rate of deployment, as well as the demographics of the people being vaccinated.
“We expect fluctuations in vaccination rate, depending on age groups and mobility; this will happen in the coming period,” Yamanoglu said in an interview.
Ankara has agreed to buy 50 million doses of CoronaVac and is in talks with other developers for stock, but has so far received only 3 million doses. Authorities have not set a date for the next shipment.
Yamanoglu said authorities had contingency plans in case further shipments were delayed, without giving details.
He added that it is easier to perform rapid vaccinations with CoronaVac than some other shots, which require much colder storage, and that Ankara has prepared to administer all vaccines in the same way.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said earlier that Turkey could administer up to 2 million vaccines daily. The country has a population of about 82 million.
Later on Wednesday, Koca said Ankara’s vaccination program and its procurement strategy were ‘good’, adding that Turkey had purchased doses in line with its vaccination schedule, enabling it to continue vaccination without interruption.
“We are doing all we can to ensure that the vaccine reaches as many of our citizens as possible,” Koca said in a statement after meeting with his coronavirus science team.
Turkey has reported some 24,000 deaths from COVID-19 and more than 2.4 million infections since March, some of the highest in the Middle East. A night watch and weekend lockout are in place to try to quell the pandemic.
(Written by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Edited by Dominic Evans and Gerry Doyle)