BIONTECH

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19, in a latest social media post.

Koca said he tested positive for coronavirus five days ago and affirmed that he will continue to work on the recent regulation on health workers' rights via online meetings.

"Soon, I will be among my friends," the minister said.

In Germany, people over the age of 60 can be vaccinated against the coronavirus for the fourth time. However, Essen virologist Ulf Dittmer warns that too frequent vaccinations could alter the immune system and harm it.
Virologist Dittmer advises against getting vaccinated every three months to avoid mask or test requirements.

With COVID-19 continuing to infect people, according to the weekly statistics of the Health Ministry, an expert has warned citizens of another possible increase in cases in September.

With COVID-19 numbers rising again, Health Ministry opened up booster shot appointments in an effort to increase dropping the number of infections.

One of BioNTech, Sinovac or Turkovac vaccines can be chosen for the booster shot, which will be the sixth dose for those aged 65 and over and also those in risky groups.

Scientists Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, a Turkish-German couple who are the cofounders of BioNTech, the first effective COVID-19 vaccine that saved millions of lives, have said they are planning to start clinical studies in Türkiye next year under the BioNTech brand.

A total of 7,556 COVID-19 cases were reported in Turkey between June 6 and 12, the Health Ministry said in its weekly coronavirus statistics. 

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca had previously announced that the ministry would stop publishing daily statistics after the number of cases started to decline.

The Turkish-German couple, who invented BioNTech, the first effective vaccine against COVID-19, with the U.S. giant Pfizer and saved millions of lives, has now succeeded in developing a vaccine that prevents pancreatic cancer from reforming.

Caseloads of hospitals across the country are declining as the COVID-19 pandemic is weakening by the day, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said, warning that people, especially the elderly, still need to get their booster shots against the virus.

China is battling its biggest spike in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with millions under lockdown and the healthcare system feeling the pressure.

One of the last countries sticking to a zero-Covid strategy, China aims to stamp out every infection with strict lockdowns and by sending all cases to secure facilities.

More than 85 percent of the adult population in Turkey has been double jabbed and it is a "significant success," Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said.

Nearly 53 million people aged 18 and above have been given two doses of the vaccine against COVID-19, according to data from the Health Ministry.