Sinovac Biotech

Interim results from a phase 3 trial in Turkey have shown that two doses of CoronaVac, a vaccine developed by the Chinese firm Sinovac, are 83.5 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19.

Turkey has administered over 46.84 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January, according to official figures released on June 26.

More than 32 million people have received their first doses, while over 14.8 million have been fully vaccinated, showed the Health Ministry count.

Turkey has lowered the COVID-19 vaccination eligibility age to 30, the health minister announced on June 19.

"The age limit for vaccine appointments has been reduced to 30. People over 30 years old can make an appointment as of tomorrow," Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on June 1 it has approved a COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech for emergency use listing, paving the way for a second Chinese shot to be used in poor countries.

Greece has extended restrictions on entry into the country until 7 June, meaning that all travellers arriving there are required to have a negative PCR certificate from a testing laboratory, for a Covid-19. The test should be taken no later than 72 hours before arrival.

Turkey has administered over 28.76 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since the launch of a mass vaccination campaign in mid-January, according to official figures.

As of May 29 evening, more than 16.47 million people have received their first doses, while over 12.28 million have been fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry's count showed.

Turkey might effectively bring the pandemic under control around October if vaccinations gather momentum during summer, with 120 million doses of mRNA jabs promised to be delivered to the country, according to Professor Serap Şimşek Yavuz, a member of the Health Ministry's Science Board.

Turkey is expanding the scope of its vaccination program against COVID-19 by starting to inoculate spouses of health care professionals, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has announced.

"We are moving to a new phase in the vaccination program. Spouses of health care workers will be able to make an appointment for the virus jab starting May 13," Koca wrote on Twitter on May 12.

Sinovac, the Chinese producer of a COVID-19 vaccine, has provided a license to Turkey to manufacturing the jabs.

The company's CEO Yin Weidong said Turkey was among five countries given a production license for the vaccine, along with Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, and Egypt, according to Bloomberg.

Ljubljana – Slovenia and Hungary have agreed to mutually recognise their respective Covid-19 vaccination certificates, the Slovenian Ministry has announced. A vaccination certificate issued in one country will have the same legal effect as the one issued in another, in line with the internal national legal orders.