The death toll in the world due to the Coronavirus has reached 1.74 million people. With such a high number of deaths, the world is in dire need of an effective vaccine in order to save the lives in danger. For that purpose, numerous biotechnologists and scientists from the globe have put all their knowledge in the development of Covid-19 vaccine but have failed in various phases of trials. But, the interim data obtained from the late trials of the vaccine in Turkey shows that the vaccine developed by the Sinovac Biotech in China is 91.25% effective against the deadly disease. The results from Turkey trials are better than those performed in Brazil. The vaccine is in its Phase III and final trial in Brazil currently, and according to the researchers on Wednesday, it is more 50% effective against the disease.
The trials in Turkey began on 14th September, and more than 70,000 volunteers were included. The researchers shared the results on Thursday and announced that the vaccine is 91.25% effective and does not show any side effects except for one individual who had an allergic reaction. The common adverse effects that the vaccine caused include mild pain, fever and slight fatigue. The data shared was collected from 1,322 people.
Sinovac Biotech is the first Chinese company to share the details of late trial stages. Sinovac's rival companies from the USA, Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca have also shown promising results from the developed Covid-19 vaccines.
Turkey states the vaccine as "safe" to use, and Ankara is likely to provide the license for the vaccine to be used in the country. Turkey has already agreed to purchase around 50 million doses of the vaccine from Sinovac. The country was expected to get the delivery by 11th December, but unfortunately, it has delayed. The Turkish Health Minister, Fahrettin Koca, has said that the country will receive 3 million doses of Sinovac's vaccine by Monday which will be enough to vaccinate around 9 million people in the country. First of all, healthcare professionals will be given the vaccine shots.
As per Koca, Turkey will also sign a supply deal for around 4.5 million doses of the vaccine with Pfizer/BioNTech, which will be received by the end of March. Turkey will have an option further to buy around 30 million doses by the same company.
Sinovac has named the vaccine as CoronaVac and signed supply deals with various countries such as Brazil, Singapore, Indonesia, and Chile whereas, the company is negotiating with Malaysia and the Philippines.
