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Turkey lowers COVID-19 vaccination age to 15, starts fourth doses

16 August 2021 17:15 (UTC +04:00)

Children aged 15 and above, and children aged 12 and older with chronic illnesses, are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Turkey, authorities announced on Monday, APA reports citing Daily Sabah.

Turkey had last lowered the vaccine eligibility age to 18 in a bid to boost its vaccination program in which more than 83.6 million doses were administered.

The country also changed the period for the first dose of the vaccine for people who tested positive for the coronavirus. They will now be able to get their first dose a month after they test positive, instead of three months later.

Under new rules, a fourth dose will be available for people vaccinated with their third dose, 21 days after their last vaccination. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca later clarified that only those traveling abroad will be required to have received the fourth dose. As some countries require two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for entry, people who have received two doses of the Chinese Sinovac and one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab, will be able to get a second dose of the latter vaccine as a fourth dose, according to the Health Ministry. “No additional doses are required for people who had their two doses of messenger RNA (mrNA) vaccine or three doses of inactive vaccine,” Koca tweeted, referring to the two vaccines available in the country.