Turkey seals deal for 60 mln more doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

ANKARA

Turkey has finalized a deal to buy 60 million more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, with an option for an additional 30 million doses.

“This second supply agreement brings the total number of doses to be supplied to Turkey to up to 120 million, all of which will be delivered in 2021,” according to a statement issued by BioNTech on May 20.

On Dec. 25, 2020, the two companies announced an initial agreement to provide 30 million vaccine doses to Turkey, read the statement.

“We are grateful to be able to make an important contribution to Turkey’s vaccination efforts and for the trust placed in us,” said Uğur Şahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech.

“Our goal is to deliver as many doses of our COVID-19 vaccine as possible to people around the world to help end this pandemic, reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations and return to a normal life,” he added.

Also commenting on the deal, Cem Açık, Pfizer Country Manager in Turkey, said this agreement will further enhance Turkey’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

“Pfizer is committed to contributing to public health in Turkey and very proud to have a global partner such as BioNTech in the global fight against the pandemic,” he concluded.

On Tuesday, Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that Turkey will secure 90 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in the next two months to facilitate the country's fight against the pandemic.