While Turkey’s Health Ministry has reported 165 COVID-19 fatalities in the last 24 hours, over 700 thousand health workers were vaccinated against the virus in the first four days and vaccinations are expected to begin at nursing homes this week.

As reported by Evrim Kepenek from bianet, “arrested for online solicitation of a minor in the US, the man became a head of department in Turkey.” The Head of Psychology Department of Marmara University has resigned from office.

All three attacks were carried out in the capital city of Ankara as opposition parties have criticized the government for its lack of reaction.

Convicted of “insulting the President” in May 2017, lawyer and Human Rights Association (İHD) Co-Chair Eren Keskin was also faced with a “disciplinary investigation” by the İstanbul Bar Association. Keskin has been given a reprimand.

Born 119 years ago today, Nazım Hikmet spent most of his life behind bars or in exile.

Turkey began mass COVID-19 vaccination yesterday. While MHP and İYİ Party Chairs have announced that they have been vaccinated, CHP Chair Kılıçdaroğlu and HDP Co-Chairs Buldan and Sancar will wait their turn according to risk groups.

Politician Selçuk Özdağ was attacked by five people in front of his house. Özdağ is the Vice Chair of the Future Party founded and chaired by Ahmet Davutoğlu, who has defined the attack as an act of "political terror."

Healthcare workers have criticized the 3+3 percent pay rise to take effect in 2021: “Over the past year, natural gas prices have increased by 32 percent, electricity prices by 31 percent, legumes by 60 percent, cheese by 27 percent, eggs by 80 percent…”

The government has agreed with China to buy 50 million doses of the CoronaVac vaccine and received the first batch of three million doses.

Having voted against the opening of 142 new bread buffets across İstanbul, the members of the Metropolitan Municipal Council from the ruling AKP and MHP have, this time, approved the proposal, but on certain conditions.

The Central Bank has released the results of its expectation survey.

The Social Memory Platform has released a written statement about the “ongoing smear campaign” against main opposition CHP İstanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu and Hasan Ocak, who was tortured and disappeared in custody in 1995.

The snowfall is expected to continue on the weekend as the occupancy rates in the city's dams have also increased amid a water shortage threat following dry months.

Members of the AKP’s Central Executive Board were vaccinated though it had not yet been their turn. Then, Health Minister “invited” some officials and politicians to be vaccinated. Dr. Karakoç says, “Vaccination must be done according to WHO criteria.”

The president joined Telegram and BiP, a domestic application, after WhatsApp's new privacy policy caused controversy.

İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener has commented on the court’s reversal of İstanbul MP Ümit Özdağ’s expulsion from the party: “When it comes to the internal affairs of our party, the judiciary has worked quite fast. It is very meaningful!”

Since early Thursday, 285 thousand healthcare workers have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Addressing the current vaccination efforts in the country, ruling AKP’s spokesperson Çelik has said, “Now, the vaccination process has transparently begun.”

Having served time in prison and with his physician-in-training permit temporarily suspended in Texas for “online solicitation of a minor”, psychiatrist Abdussamed K. is now the head of the psychology department at a university in İstanbul.

Turkey’s Health Ministry has announced that 170 people have lost their lives due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. While 8,962 new cases have been reported, the number of tests conducted in a day has been announced as 169,847.

Prof. Dani Rodrik and Prof. Daron Acemoğlu have spoken to the Student Representative Board (ÖTK) of Boğaziçi University amid ongoing protests against the appointment of Prof. Bulu as the new university president.