Turkey's COVID-19 vaccine candidate enters final stage

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's COVID-19 vaccine candidate has reached its final stage of human trials, the country's health minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking after a virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Fahrettin Koca said: "Next week Turkey will vaccinate volunteers for Phase 3 human trials. Many vaccine development projects are underway. One of them has reached the final stage."

Also, Turkey on Thursday will enter a new phase of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign as those 45 years of age and older will begin to be vaccinated, Koca noted.

People over the age of 40 will also be included in the vaccination drive next Monday, he added.

Meanwhile, scientific studies on the issue that vaccines provide immunity for a certain period and the necessity of a third dose for people who have received the two doses of the vaccine are underway, he said.

Since Turkey began its COVID-vaccination campaign on Jan. 14, it has administered over 31.75 million coronavirus vaccine jabs, according to official figures on Wednesday.