Turkovac ‘effective’ in preventing deaths

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s locally-produced COVID-19 vaccine, Turkovac, is very effective in preventing both disease-related deaths and hospitalizations, an expert has said, as the manufacturing of the new shots continues in a laboratory in the country’s southeastern province of Şanlıurfa.

Professor Ateş Kara, a member of the country’s Coronavirus Science Board, said that there are some data showing that Turkovac is more protective than other inactivated vaccines, noting that the production of the vaccine is not easy and the tests went through a difficult process.

“Turkovac is very effective in preventing death, it prevents hospitalization in intensive care unit too. Some data emerged shows that our vaccine is more protective than other inactivated vaccines. This is an advantage,” he said.

Kara added that the point reached is a great success and work for everyone.

Referring to the effect of Turkovac against the Omicron variant, the expert said that there is no urgent need for a different vaccine for the variant yet.

“We know that current vaccines and our Turkovac vaccine are also effective against the Omicron variant,” he noted.

Turkish Health Institutes (TÜSEB) President Erhan Akdoğan also said that the Turkovac vaccine is being especially used as a booster shot in 81 provinces of the country.

“Vaccination studies against new variants have also been carried out rapidly. These studies are also important for future pandemics,” Akdoğan said, adding it can be used effectively and safely against possible new variants.

The development of Turkovac started with preclinical trials, including animal testing, before switching to three-phase human trials once it was granted approval by ethics boards and health authorities.

Turkey also plans to deliver Turkovac to other countries.