COVID-19 vaccine

The European Union and African leaders agreed to a "renewed partnership" at a summit last week with pledges of major investments, but Europe was accused of ignoring calls to waive patents for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Coronavirus cases peaked as of last weekend and the rate of infections will likely accelerate, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has said, adding that many decisions, including the lifting of the face mask mandate, will be discussed during a Science Board meeting slated for next week.

Turkey's three most populous cities, Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir, have seen increases in the weekly COVID-19 cases at varying rates.

The incidence rate, measuring the number of coronavirus infections per 100,000 people, rose slightly to around 895 in Istanbul, which is home to nearly 16 million residents, in the week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4 from 890 between Jan. 22 and Jan. 28.

China on Feb. 12 said it had given "conditional" approval for Pfizer's Covid-19 drug Paxlovid to treat adults with mild to moderate illness and a high risk of developing severe disease.

The Greek Ministry of Health has announced that about 10,000 medics who have not received a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine will have to take two rapid tests a week to work. This will be at their expense, Kathimerini reported.

Health Minister Thanos Plevris clarified that health workers who do not have a booster will not be removed, as is the case with the unvaccinated.

The new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours in Bulgaria are 4737, and the number of deaths with a diagnosis of Covid-19 is 40. This is shown by the data from the Unified Information Portal.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family have left their home in the country's capital and shifted to a secret location after a large-scale protest opposing COVID vaccine mandates converged on Parliament Hill, media reports said on Saturday.

Turkovac protects against the Alpha and Delta variants of the coronavirus and trials on its effects against the Omicron variant are ongoing, the head of the center that developed the Turkish COVID-19 vaccine has said.

Kosovo will not withdraw its decision to demand three COVID-19 vaccine doses or two doses together with a negative PCR test for foreigners entering the country or for citizens who have spent more than 12 hours abroad, despite complaints from people and businesses in the region who frequently pass the border.

Under the new rules, only travelers who have received three doses of the coronavirus vaccine can enter the country without additional documents.
According to the new Regulation on the COVID-19 regime for entry into Austria, the list of high-risk countries no longer applies.