Uğur Şahin

With the administration of more than 5.3 million doses of COVID-19 jabs over the past week alone, a little over 25 percent of Turkey's population is now fully inoculated.

Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin, the co-founders of BioNTech, have been named the recipients of this year's Aydın Doğan Award for their invaluable work on biotechnology culminating the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener has said they would move a motion in parliament to nominate the Turkish-origin co-founders of German biotechnology company BioNTech for the Nobel prize for leading vaccine development against COVID-19.

Turkey will receive 12 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer/BioNTech by the end of next week, the country's health minister has said.

Fahrettin Koca said he spoke with Uğur Şahin, the co-founder of CEO of Germany-based BioNTech, earlier this week and that Şahin confirmed that they obtained export permission for 12 million doses of the injection.

Turkey on May 20 saw fewer than 10,000 new COVID-19 daily cases for the first time since March 1, said the country's health minister, marking a key milestone in the country's fight against coronavirus.

Turkey has finalized a deal to buy 60 million more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, with an option for an additional 30 million doses.

"This second supply agreement brings the total number of doses to be supplied to Turkey to up to 120 million, all of which will be delivered in 2021," according to a statement issued by BioNTech on May 20.

Profits from Covid-19 jabs have helped at least nine people become billionaires, a campaign group said on Thursday, calling for an end to pharmaceutical corporations' "monopoly control" on vaccine technology, AFP reported.

With the arrival of the latest batch in Turkey on March 24, there are 1.4 million doses of BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine ready for use in the country, the nation's health minister said.

Germany's president conferred Turkish scientists ur Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci with the country's highest award on Friday for inventing the world's first effective vaccine against COVID-19.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented the Order of Merit to Şahin and Türeci at a ceremony held at the Bellevue Palace, which was also attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

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.