Turkey launched on Monday swine flu vaccination for children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years as well as people suffering from chronic illnesses, Xinhua reported.
Vaccinations are being given free of charge at local health clinics and family health centers, according to the Ministry of Health.
Health Minister Recep Akdag urged citizens not to hesitate to get vaccinated because some 400,000 people might have contracted the virus in the country.
"More than 60 of our citizens have died (from swine flu). The risk of possible side effects is not as serious as death," he added.
The minister said, "A virus is present that could exist throughout the winter season. We will vaccinate at-risk groups first."
However, he said, every vaccine can have side effects. "We vaccinated around 300,000 health personnel, and all of them are fine."
He said that 2.4 million doses of the swine-flu vaccine are available in Turkey.
Turkey launches swine-flu vaccination for children
