Turkey said a trial involving thousands of volunteers showed an estimated 91.25% efficacy rate for a Covid-19 vaccine made by China Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a level well above that suggested in a study on shooting in Brazil.
Since September, Turkey has carried out trials involving more than 3,400 people, according to a news conference broadcast on television by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca. The effectiveness rate was determined among about half of the participants, he said.
Previously, Brazil said a clinical trial showed that the Sinovac vaccine was more than 50% effective, although researchers were slow to release more information at the company’s request.
Turkey has agreed to buy 50 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine, with the first shipments scheduled to start on Sunday. The authorities will soon start a four-phase vaccination program, prioritizing medical staff, people over 65 with chronic illnesses and people with physical disabilities.
Koca said the Sinovac vaccine was preferred because it is manufactured using conventional methods. Even so, Turkey is in initial negotiations to receive about 4.5 million doses of the vaccine produced by Turkey. Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech by the end of March, said Koca. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was developed with messenger RNA technology, a new strategy to fight viruses.