Turkiye’s homegrown Covid-19 vaccine approved

Turkiye's domestically developed Covid-19 vaccine Turkovac has been approved for emergency use across the country.

"As of today (Wednesday), we have become one of the nine countries producing a Covid-19 vaccine," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Wednesday.

Turkovac will be in widespread use as of next week, Koca said.

Since early in the vaccine's development, Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had vowed to make it available globally, saying it will be used to benefit all humanity.

“Our Covid-19 vaccine Turkovac, which has come to the production and usage stage by receiving the necessary approvals, is a symbol of our efforts to protect our nation against the pandemic in the most effective way,” said Erdogan. 

Last weekend he pledged to send 15 million vaccine doses to countries in the world's poorest continent, calling the low vaccination rates there were a blot on humanity.

"We will be pleased to share this vaccine with all humanity," he said Wednesday in televised remarks.

Vaccination drive

Turkiye has administered more than 125.76 million doses of vaccines since it launched an immunisation drive this January, according to official figures released on Tuesday. 

More than 56.7 million people have received a first vaccine shot, while over 51.24 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said. 

The country has also given third booster shots to more than 15.32 million people.

Source: TRT World