Turkey will receive the first batch of jab that is 91.25 percent effective in testing
Nurse Arzu Yildirim (center) administers a dose of vaccines against China’s Sinovac coronavirus during phase III clinical trials at Acibadem Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday. EMRAH GUREL / AP
ANKARA – Turkey will receive its first shipment of Sinovac coronavirus vaccines from China in a few days, as preliminary home tests have shown it to be 91 percent effective, making it the last country to receive Chinese scientific medical advances.
“We are sure that the vaccine is effective and safe for the Turkish people,” Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told a news conference.
The initial protection rate for the vaccine is 91.25% and no major side effects were seen during the test, Koca said.
The first shipment of 3 million doses of the Chinese vaccine was expected to arrive in Turkey on Monday, after the Turkish government signed an agreement to buy up to 50 million doses. All of these doses will eventually arrive in the country at the end of February.
The main group to be vaccinated will be the health team and the jabs can be applied to about 1.5 million or even 2 million people a day, said Koca, adding that he will be one of the pioneers in getting the Chinese vaccine.
In Asia, Bahrain said on December 13 that it approved a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and launched the vaccine’s online registration for citizens and residents.
A statement by the National Health Regulatory Authority did not specify which of the two vaccines being developed by Sinopharm received the green light, but cited data from Phase III clinical trials that showed an 86 percent effectiveness rate in which Bahrain participated.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Health said in a statement and on its Instagram account that citizens and residents over the age of 18 can register online to receive the vaccine free of charge.
The data cited was the same as announced earlier this month by the United Arab Emirates from an interim analysis of advanced clinical trials of an inactivated vaccine developed by the Beijing Biological Products Institute, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group, or CNBG.
Malaysia said the government is now in final negotiations with Chinese manufacturers Sinovac and CanSino to guarantee doses of the vaccine to further cover its population.
‘A historic day’
In Latin America, the state-owned Butantan Institute of Brazil announced on Wednesday that the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Sinovac of China has reached levels of effectiveness against the coronavirus required by the World Health Organization in tests with 13,000 Brazilian volunteers.
The data corroborated that the vaccine is “the safest on the market” and achieved the superiority in efficacy required by WHO and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), said Dimas Covas, director of the institute.
“We have reached the level of effectiveness that allows us to apply for registration for emergency use of the vaccine both here and in China,” said Covas.
“It is a historic day for Brazilian science because of the hope it brings to Brazilians”.
Brazil’s Ministry of Health also expected to have at least 150 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines available in the first half of 2021, with a third or more coming from Sinovac.
Arnaldo Medeiros, an official at the Ministry of Health, said on Tuesday that an initial agreement to acquire 46 million doses of the vaccine developed by Sinovac could soon be expanded to 100 million doses.
In Mexico, a coronavirus vaccine developed by Chinese CanSino Biologics will be submitted on Tuesday for analysis by Mexican health regulator Cofepris for its application, said Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.
In Africa, Egypt received the first batch of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine on December 11 to help fight the COVID-19 epidemic.
Priority in the distribution of the vaccine would be given to medical staff in isolated hospitals, people with chronic diseases such as cancer and kidney failure and the elderly, free of charge, said Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed.
“It is a historic day to receive the first air shipments of the Chinese anti-virus vaccine,” Zayed told a news conference at Cairo International Airport.
Xinhua – Agencies
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