Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board

The emergency authorization application for the domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, Turkovac, has been submitted to the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK), Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced.

The COVID-19 booster shot increases protection against the disease, the Turkish health minister said on Sept. 8.

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In a written statement issued after the virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Fahrettin Koca said people who have received three shots account for less than 2% of overall coronavirus cases in Turkey.

Some 80 percent-90 percent of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Turkey are among people who were never vaccinated or received just one jab, the country's health minister said on Sept. 2. 

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Turkey on June 23 lowered the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility age to 18, with appointments to be scheduled as of Friday, the country's health minister said.

Addressing a news conference after a meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Fahrettin Koca said Turkey aims to vaccinate 55 million people with at least one shot by mid-July.

With COVID-19 vaccines increasingly becoming more available, this summer will be the last when people will have to wear their face masks, the health minister told media outlets following a virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board on June 2.

Turkey has registered 180,448 U.K. variant cases of the novel coronavirus in 81 provinces, the country's health minister said in a statement on March 31. 

Following a meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Fahrettin Koca said the U.K. variant accounts for 75% of all cases in the country.

A total of 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in Turkey by the end of May, the country's health minister said on March 25. 

Speaking after a virtual meeting of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Fahrettin Koca said that so far 1.4 million Pfizer-BioNTech jabs have arrived in Turkey, and the figure will reach 4.5 million by April.

Turkey's health minister said early on March 18 that 4.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in the country this month.

Speaking after a meeting of the country's Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, Fahrettin Koca said the first 58,000 doses of the vaccine, which will be used in tests, have arrived in Turkey.

There is no new coronavirus variant that originated in Turkey, while the rate of infections related to the U.K. strain is rising in the country, the country's health minister said on Feb. 25. 

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared a statement on Twitter with details of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board's latest meeting and 'we are about to complete Phase 1 in the vaccination of priority groups identified by our Scientific Board," he said on Feb. 16.