Studies to start on Turkish vaccine's efficacy against omicron

By Esma Kucuksahin

KAYSERI, Turkey (AA) - Work will soon begin to determine the efficacy of Turkey's homegrown coronavirus vaccine against the omicron variant, one of the Turkish scientists who developed the jab called Turkovac said on Wednesday.

Aykut Ozdarendeli of Turkey's Erciyes University told Anadolu Agency that the team observed "100% protection" against both the delta and alpha variants in transgenic mice injected with the vaccine.

"We plan to start studies on the isolation of the omicron variant as soon as possible as we see that omicron is rapidly becoming dominant across the world," he said.

"We will soon see Turkovac's effectiveness against omicron."

While Phase 3 trials of the vaccine are ongoing, data from Phase 1 and Phase 2 tests, as well as preclinical data, were brought together in the application for emergency use approval, he noted.

Turkey's Health Ministry announced Turkovac's emergency use approval last week.

Ozdarendeli urged all who were eligible, who have not been vaccinated nor caught the virus, to participate in Phase 3 trials.