Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received his first jab of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Ankara on Thursday as the country kicked off a nationwide vaccination drive.

This came one day after the country's health minister Fahrettin Koca received his first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

Other members of Turkey's scientific advisory council also received their jabs soon after authorities greenlighted the emergency use of Sinovac vaccine.

President Erdogan said 254,000 healthcare workers had received their first shots of the vaccine, and that he hoped all Turkey citizens would be vaccinated "in a very short time."

By Wednesday, Turkey had reported 2,355,839 COVID-19 infections with 23,325 deaths, according to figures from the Johns Hopkins University.