Turkey’s domestic Covid-19 vaccine receives emergency use authorization

Turkey’s domestically developed Covid-19 vaccine, Turkovac, has received emergency use authorization by Turkish authorities and will be open to use from next weekend, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday.

Turkey began developing Turkovac this year, but the launch date for the vaccine has been beset by delays. President Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey would make the shot available globally.

Turkey has already administered more than 125 million doses of vaccines using shots developed by China’s Sinovac and by Pfizer/BioNTech, with more than 51 million having received two doses of the vaccines. It has also begun administering boosters shots.

Koca was speaking at the vaccine’s manufacturing facility in the southeastern province of Sanlirufa.

Turkey’s daily infection numbers have hovered around 20,000, while the daily death toll remains near 200. [Reuters]