Turkish vaccine teams battle ice and snow to reach isolated villages
Travelling across roads covered with ice and snow, vaccination teams have been going to Turkey's isolated mountain villages as the government seeks to inoculate 60 per cent of the country's people against coronavirus over the next three months.
After much effort, medical workers arrived Friday to vaccinate older villagers in Gumuslu, a small settlement of 350 in the central province of Sivas that lies 230km from the provincial capital.
"It's a difficult challenge to come here," said Dr Rustem Hasbek, head of Sivas Health Services.
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Doctors and health workers of a COVID-19 vaccination team walk in the isolated village of Gumuslu. AP
Dr Yasin Kaya and health worker Yusuf Duran walk to vaccinate 85-year-old Ibrahim Yigit at his house in the isolated village of Gumuslu in the district of Sivas, central Turkey. AP
Zeynep Yigit, 70, is administered a dose of the CoronaVac vaccine by health worker Yusuf Duran at her house in the isolated village of Gumuslu, Turkey. AP
"The geography is tough, the climate is tough, as you can see."
Turkey rolled out the Chinese Sinovac vaccine on January 14 and has so far given out 8.2 million doses.
The vaccine is given in two doses 28 days apart. Ankara has also ordered 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that Turkey aims to vaccinate 52.5 million people by the end of May.
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Altun Yigit, 83, rests after she was administered a CoronaVac vaccine made by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. by a visiting medical team at her house in the isolated village of Gumuslu, Turkey. AP
Local resident Zeynep Yigit, 70, left, looks on as Dr Yasin Kaya and health worker Yusuf Duran of the Koyulhisar Public Health Centre vaccination team prepare a dose of the CoronaVac vaccine at her house in the isolated village of Gumuslu in the district of Sivas, central Turkey. AP
Altun Yigit, 83, rests after she was administered a CoronaVac vaccine made by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd. by a visiting medical team at her house in the isolated village of Gumuslu of the district of Sivas, central Turkey. AP
To date, around 10 per cent of Turkey's 83 million population has received at least the first dose.
Health care workers, older people and people with serious medical conditions were among the first to receive the jab.
"I can't go to the hospital. I have a heart condition and I get motion sickness in cars," said Gumuslu resident Zeynep Yigit, 70.
"The doctors came and vaccinated us."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to announce the easing of coronavirus restrictions on Monday.
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Doctors and health workers of a COVID-19 vaccination team drive into the isolated village of Gumuslu in the district of Sivas, central Turkey. AP
A view of the mountainous area of Koyulhisar in the district of Sivas, central Turkey. AP
He previously said the government would evaluate the situation on a province-by-province basis before allowing restaurants, cafes and other shuttered businesses to reopen.
Weekend and evening curfews could also be relaxed.
Still, infections have spiked in recent days, with Turkey recording more than 9000 daily cases, the highest level since mid-January.
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Overall, the country has seen more than 2.6 million cases since March last year and nearly 28,500 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths.
Experts say all confirmed numbers worldwide are undercounts due to missed cases and limited testing.
Doctors and health workers of a COVID-19 vaccination team walk in the isolated village of Gumuslu in the district of Sivas, central Turkey. AP
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