Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Immunisation against COVID-19 of 12- 15 year olds with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine could start on Wednesday, conditional upon all procedural criteria imposed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) being met according to the agreed timetable.

The total number of COVID-19 vaccines administered in Turkey has exceeded 29 million doses.

The country rolled out its inoculation program in mid-January, starting with health care workers and the elderly.

Since then, it has been gradually expanding the scope of the inoculation drive to cover more age groups and people at risk.

Turkey this week is moving to a new normalization phase in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Fahrettion Koca previously said that the Health Ministry's Science Board was working on plans on how to proceed toward normalization after June 1.

The EU's drug watchdog on May 28 approved the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus jab for 12 to 15-year-olds, the first vaccine to get the green light for children in the bloc.

The vaccine was "well tolerated" in adolescents and there were no "major concerns" in terms of side effects, the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency said.

Ljubljana – After Slovenia’s vaccination centres reported they had been receiving fewer Covid-19 vaccines this week than they have ordered, the national vaccination logistics coordinator said on Wednesday that more doses would be available in June, and that a major shipment of the AstraZeneca vaccine was expected this Friday.

A vaccination marathon will be organized, between May 28-30, at the headquarters of the National Authority for Quality Management in Health (ANMCS), headquartered in Splaiul Independentei nr. 202 A, Sector 6. Anyone will be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 without scheduling, the authority said in a statement. The Pfizer-BioNTech serum will be administered during the marathon.

EU leaders agreed Tuesday to donate at least 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to poorer nations by the end of the year as supplies steadily rise across Europe.

Gathered in Brussels for a two-day summit, the 27 leaders backed a text in which they pledge to continue efforts "to increase global vaccine production capacities in order to meet global needs."

Within the scope of its massive vaccination program, Turkey aims to achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 by the fall this year, the daily Hürriyet reported on May 25.

Some players of the Turkish national football team were vaccinated for the novel coronavirus on May 22.

A total of 11 players, including Altay Bayındır, Rıdvan Yılmaz and Umut Meras, received their second doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Serik State Hospital in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.

Turkey will administer 30 million doses of the Pzifer/BioNTech vaccines to 30 million people in June, the country's health minister has said.

The country is expected to receive those doses at the end of May or in early June.