Istanbul, Feb 24 (IANS): Turkey on Wednesday started vaccinating teachers against Covid-19 as part of the ongoing inoculation drive, with China's Sinovac Biotech.

Turkish Education Minister Ziya Selcuk got the first jab in the Black Sea province of Corum during a live broadcast, Xinhua reported.

Selcuk said that a list of 1.26 million school personnel was earlier submitted to the Health ministry and their names are now in the vaccination appointment system.

Last week, the second semester started with in-person classes in village primary schools across the country. All other primary schools and 8th and 12th grades are expected to begin face-to-face education on March 1.

Turkey launched the nationwide immunisation drive on January 14 with the vaccination of healthcare professionals and the elderly.

So far, over 7.5 million doses of vaccines have been given across the country, according to the latest health ministry data.

More than 6.3 million people got their first doses, while over 1.2 million others received their second doses, showed the data.