Turkey's Turkovac vaccine '100 percent effective' against alpha variant

A Turkish-produced coronavirus vaccine has shown 100 percent efficacy against the alpha variant first identified in the UK, the lead scientist behind the vaccine said on Monday.

The Turkovac vaccine, developed at the Erciyes university in Turkey's central province on Kayseri, is currently in its third and final phase of trials.

Lead researcher Professor Aykut Özdarendeli was quoted by the Daily Sabah saying the vaccine had shown 100 percent efficacy against the alpha variant in tests using transgenic mice. Özdarendeli added that tests on its effectiveness against the delta variant were underway.

The Turkovac vaccine showed no serious side effects and is expected to be made available for the public later this year, Özdarendeli said.

"So far, all vaccines have partial side effects and all proved to be efficient against coronavirus," he said.

The new vaccine is expected to bolster Turkey's vaccine programme, which began in January and currently offers the Pfizer-BioNTech jab and the Chinese-developed Sinovac vaccine.

Turkish authorities say that around 40 percent of the country's population have received two doses in its vaccination programme, according to World Health Organisation data.

This week, Turkey saw a surge in coronavirus cases, recording more than 20,000.