Erdogan Says Turkey Becomes 3rd to Develop COVID-19 Vaccines

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey has been the third nation to develop vaccinations against COVID-19 locally after the United States and China, reports Xinhua quoting World Health Organization.

“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,” the Turkish leader added.

Erdogan stated that two vaccine candidates have successfully completed the animal testing and that one of them had obtained ethical clearance to proceed to the human clinical trial.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey exceeded 239,622 on Saturday with a death toll of 5,829, according to the most recent official reports.