Erdogan says 2nd batch of Chinese vaccines to arrive by weekend

ISTANBUL -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Friday that 10 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive from China by the end of this week.

Speaking to reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Erdogan said the second party of the vaccines, developed by the Chinese producer company Sinovac, has been approved in China.

"Probably towards the end of this week, they may come. Our expectation is the arrival of 10 million doses," he stressed.

After receiving the first batch of 3 million doses of vaccines from China at the end of December, Turkey launched the mass vaccination program on Jan. 14.

Erdogan noted that the vaccine rollout is going on as planned, and the inoculation of elderly people is still continuing.