Coronavirus: Turkey could start Chinese COVID-19 vaccination this month

Turkey could start administering China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the month after analysis for domestic licensing is complete, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca was quoted on Tuesday as saying by Sozcu newspaper.

Koca said shipments of Sinovac’s Coronavac vaccine will arrive after December 11. The vaccine, which has been undergoing Phase 3 trials in Turkey and other countries, will need another two weeks of testing and analysis, the paper said.

For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.

In November, Turkey signed a contract to buy 50 million doses of Coronavac, to be delivered in batches between December and February.

Preliminary trial results announced last month showed the vaccine triggered a quick immune response, but the level of antibodies produced was lower than in people who had recovered from the virus.

In Brazil, where Coronavac has also been undergoing late stage testing, Sao Paulo’s Butantan Institute biomedical center said last week it expected Sinovac to publish efficacy results from its vaccine trials by December 15.

Koca said Turkey, with a population of 83 million, wanted to buy more vaccines from China but had been unable to do so, and was looking to Moscow and other possible suppliers to fill the gap until domestic production can meet demand.

“We are completing the missing toxicology part of Russian vaccine, we might buy that vaccine afterwards,” he said.

Turkey is also in talks to increase the amount of coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, from initial one million doses, Sozcu quoted Koca as saying.

“They said they can provide 25 million doses in 2021. Turkey won’t be needing vaccine after April as Turkish vaccine will be used,” Koca said.