Turkey is third country to develop COVID-19 vaccines - Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey has become the third country to develop vaccines locally against COVID-19 after the United States and China according to the World Health Organization.

Speaking at the opening of TUBITAK (Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council) Excellence Centers in the Gebze district of the northwestern Kocaeli province, Erdogan said Turkey has made great progress in developing vaccines and drugs against COVID-19 in collaboration with state, private sectors and universities. 

The COVID-19 Turkey Platform, founded by the TUBITAK (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey,) is currently working on eight different vaccines and 10 different medication projects, Erdogan said at the opening ceremony of the TUBITAK Excellence Centers in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.

Collaborating with state and private sectors and universities, Turkey has been making significant progress in developing vaccines and drugs against COVID-19, he added.

Erdogan noted that two vaccine candidates have successfully completed the animal tests, and one of them has received ethical approval to move on to the clinical trial on humans.

Since it originated in China last December, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 727,700 lives in 188 countries and regions.

More than 19.68 million COVID-19 cases have been reported around the world so far, with over 11.96 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

The US, Brazil, India, and Russia are currently the worst-hit countries in the world.