Since shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Turkey in December 2020, medical teams across the country have been working house to house to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to elderly and vulnerable citizens.
In this aerial photograph taken with a drone, members of the Gevaş Public Health Center vaccination team walk through the snow to vaccinate a resident with the Chinese Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine during a house call in the village of Kayalar, in Van, Turkey, Feb. 11, 2021.
For the citizens of the city of Van, Gevaş Province Public Health Center vaccination teams, who specialize in remote locations, often high in the mountains or in villages that have become inaccessible by car due to heavy snowfall and road closures, house calls pose many unique challenges.
Nurse Gökalp Ballı (L) of the Gevaş Public Health Center vaccination team assists 81-year-old Selim Saypak ahead of administering a vaccine during a house call in the village of Ikizler, in Van, Turkey, Feb. 11, 2021.
Since the start of the vaccine campaign in Turkey, which was praised by the World Health Organization (WHO), the two specialist mobile teams have vaccinated more than 130 citizens in rural villages, some as old as 106.
In this aerial photograph, members of the Gevaş Public Health Center vaccination team are seen walking through the snow to vaccinate a resident in the village of Kayalar, in Van, Turkey, Feb. 11, 2021.
Turkey's official drug and medical equipment body approved the Chinese Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine for emergency use against the coronavirus on Jan. 13, 2020.
Nurse Gökalp Ballı prepares to vaccinate 81-year-old Selim Saypak with the Chinese Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine during a house call in the village of Ikizler, in Van, Turkey, Feb. 11, 2021.
According to data from Turkey’s Health Ministry, the country has vaccinated more than 3.6 million people, almost doubling the number of 2 million since Feb. 1.
Members of the Gevaş Public Health Center vaccination team walk back to their vehicle through the snow after a house call to vaccinate a resident of Kayalar village, in Van, Turkey, Feb. 11, 2021.
The death toll from the coronavirus in Turkey has reached more than 27,000 and the number of infections has topped 2.5 million since mid-March 2020.
Doctors and nurses from the Gevaş Public Health Center vaccination team prepare to vaccinate 73-year-old Selim Yıldızhan (2nd L) and wife Sahide Yildizhan (4th L) with the Chinese Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine during a house call in the village of Göründü, in Van, Turkey, Feb. 11, 2021.
