COVID-19 vaccine must belong to all of humanity: Erdoğan

ANKARA

A vaccine that would be developed against the novel coronavirus shall belong to all of humanity, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 4, addressing the opening of a conference held by the European Union seeking to raise 7.5 billion euros in initial funding to support the fight against COVID-19.

“We support global efforts to diagnose, treat and develop vaccines, along with our national activities. The COVID-19 vaccine must be the common property of all humanity. The principle of guaranteeing global access to the vaccine to be produced should be applied carefully,” he said via teleconference.

Erdoğan said Turkey would support global efforts for diagnosis, treatment and vaccine development against the COVID-19 outbreak and will announce its donation in mid-May.

“We will announce the amount which we will determine until May 23,” the president said.

“The pandemic reminded us that our fate is common even though our religions are different. We provided medical equipment support to 57 countries with this understanding,” he said.

The EU and several other international actors have stepped up to secure financial support for a medical response against the ongoing pandemic. The EU hosted an online conference on May 4 for governments and organizations to pledge money to support the search for a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.