Lack of scientific publications raises questions over Turkey's domestic Covid vaccine

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Sending a letter to the General Directorate of Public Health, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has raised questions concerning Turkovac, the domestically produced coronavirus vaccine that got an emergency use approval last week. 

No sufficient scientific information and data about the vaccine was shared with the public, as well as there were no scientific articles about it, the TTB noted.

The fact that the emergency approval was granted by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK), which doesn't have administrative autonomy and scientific freedom, would cause scientific concerns, said the doctors' group.

In these circumstances, the ministry's statements that the vaccine is safe would further increase vaccine hesitancy in the public, according to the TTB.

The association addressed the following questions to the directorate:

Have the phase-1, phase-2 and phase-3 studies of the vaccine been published as a scientific report that can be accessed by the public?

Was a report prepared about the vaccine being "safe" and "effective" before the Emergency Use Approval was granted?

Have Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP-GMP) and biosafety level (BSL3) conditions been met in the production facilities of this vaccine?

What are the manufacturing and supplying firms and what is the cost per dose?

What is known about Turkovac?

Turkovac is an inactive vaccine that has been developed by Erciyes University and the Health Institutes of Turkey of the Ministry of Health.

The success rates and details of the Turkovac in Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 have not been shared yet.

Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca announced on December 22 that the emergency use approval had been granted and the mass production of the vaccine had started.

The common use of the vaccine would start before the end of the year, said the minister. (AS/VK)