The Phase 1 human trials of ERUCOV-VAC developed at Erciyes University in central Turkey will conclude on Dec. 14. and that Phase 2 may begin two days later, officials said. If the vaccine is proven to be effective, it will be added to Turkey’s growing arsenal of vaccines to put an end to the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Turkey announced it had received a shipment of the Chinese vaccine earlier.
Ahmet Inal, deputy director of the university’s research center where trials are being conducted, says they had 44 volunteers for the first phase, and they were planning to inoculate some 200 volunteers in the second phase. He noted that they have already received more than 100 volunteer applications.
ERUCOV-VAC is the vaccine closest to being ready, among those being developed locally across Turkey by scientists and pharmaceutical companies. It started human trials in early November. No serious side effects were reported following the first round of inoculations on volunteers and a second dose was administered on Nov. 26.
Inal told Demirören News Agency (DHA) on Sunday that the initial data indicated that the vaccine was so far safe and called the public to “break their prejudice” against vaccinations and volunteer. “The higher the number of inoculations, the higher the immunity among people will be,” he said. “Vaccination is the best way to protect ourselves from the pandemic,” he stressed.
