A staff member displays samples of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine at Sinovac Biotech Ltd., in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
ANKARA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has begun its first clinical trials of China's COVID-19 vaccine, testing it on three volunteers, the country's health minister has said.
According to the state-run Anadolu agency, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said the trial of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine will be held in two phases: on 1,200 volunteers in the first round, and 10,000 in the second.
He told a news conference that the scientific community is of the consensus that the vaccine studies will "show positive results by the year-end."
Turkey's total confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 1,648 on Thursday to 298,039, while the death toll amounted to 7,315, according to data shared by the health ministry. ■
