Turkey tests first shot of Covid-19 vaccine on health worker

Turkish doctors have given the first shot of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine to a health worker.

"Today, we began the Phase 3 study of the Chinese origin vaccine from the Cerrahpasa medical school," Dr Mustafa Sait Gonen, dean of Turkey's leading Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, said on Monday.

Asim Basturk, 53, volunteered for the vaccine trial. 

"This is an important day for the Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty. This struggle [against the virus] continues in Cerrahpasa, as in other hospitals and in the world," Gonen added.

READ MORE: Turkey close to producing its own Covid-19 vaccine

"I volunteered for this of my own will. Of course, we want this [virus] which is creating trouble for Turkey and the world to be eliminated soon," Basturk said. 

Turkish scientists are looking to make a vaccine available by mid-2021. They say the speedy process does not mean they’ve jeopardised safety.  

The virus that first appeared in China last December has spread to some 200 countries and regions, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.

More than 33 million people have been infected, including over 998,000 deaths and nearly 23 million recoveries.

The US, India, and Brazil are currently the worst-hit countries.