A woman receives the COVID-19 vaccine in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec. 8, 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkovac, Turkey's first domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine, has received emergency use authorization by the authorities, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Wednesday.
"We have started production as of today," Koca said at a televised ceremony aired from the vaccine's manufacturing center in the southeastern Sanliurfa province.
He noted that Turkovac would be widely administered in the upcoming 10 days.
"With the production of Turkovac, we will be pleased to share this vaccine with all humanity," said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who attended the ceremony via video conference.
A woman receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Ankara, Turkey, Sept. 9, 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Turkey launched its mass vaccination program against COVID-19 in January with the vaccine developed by China's Sinovac company, and it later included jabs from Pfizer/BioNTech in the drive.
Turkey has administered over 125 million COVID-19 vaccines to date, and the vaccination rate of people aged 18 and over who have got two doses reached nearly 83 percent, the latest data of the health ministry revealed. ■
