Phase 3 trials of local vaccine ‘to be concluded soon’

ANKARA

As Turkey continues its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities have intensified their efforts to introduce its locally produced vaccine.

The interim results of the Phase 3 trials of Turkovac, being carried out with the participation of thousands of volunteers across Turkey, will be announced very soon, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Immediately after the announcement of the interim results, an application for emergency use approval of Turkovac will be made to the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK). Serial production of the inactive vaccine will begin if the process yields positive results.

While the Health Ministry plans to carry out the serial production of the locally produced vaccine in two facilities in the country, it also aims to make the vaccine available at the end of the year at the latest.

The Turkish health minister called on those eligible for the third dose of vaccine to prefer Turkovac for a faster start of mass production.

“Anyone between the age of 18 and 59, has had two doses of vaccine before and has not had COVID-19 can support us! The choice of a third dose vaccine is optional. But since our hearts are with Turkovac, at least 3,000 of us should prefer Turkovac,” he noted.

Turkovac was developed by a team of scientists at Kayseri’s Erciyes University, and its Phase 3 human trials started in June.

The minister also urged young people to get their vaccines against COVID-19, noting that the new coronavirus cases are mostly seen among this age group.