Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said late Wednesday that the vaccination drive for those over the age of 85 will begin Thursday as the country moves ahead in its fight against the coronavirus.

In the first stage of the vaccination rollout, over 1 million citizens, including over 980,000 health care professionals and the residents and staff of the country's care homes have been vaccinated so far, Koca said following a meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board.

"I want you to know that vaccination capacity will increase every day," Koca said.

He added that the board has already worked out the logistics of the country's supply of vaccines and that the appropriate number of doses are being released in accordance with the program.

"At every stage, the vaccine logistics will continue according to a plan that will make it possible to maintain the vaccination program ceaselessly," said the statement.

Koca noted that the country began vaccinating its citizens over the age of 90 as of Tuesday. Medical teams administered the vaccines to those in the age bracket in their homes.

Beginning Friday, medical teams will begin vaccinating citizens over the age of 85 in their homes, the statement added.

"We are pushing the boundaries to provide as many citizens as possible access to the vaccine in the shortest amount of time possible," Koca added.