Iran Press/ Asia: Sputnik V will be the third Covid vaccine to be used in Turkey. The country has already given emergency approval to a vaccine produced by the Chinese company Sinovac and another created by a collaboration of the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer with the German company BioNtech.
Sputnik V vaccine has been approved for use in dozens of countries. Albania also approved it for use on Friday and said it had already received a shipment, according to Reuters.
Turkey’s health minister, Fahrettin Koca, said an arrangement with Russia would bring 50 million doses of Sputnik V into Turkey within six months. The first shipment is expected in May. Turkey also wants to secure the technology to produce the vaccine domestically.
Turkey has been reporting more than 40,000 confirmed daily cases, down from a record of more than 60,000 mid-April but still far above its previous high of about 30,000 in December, according to data from John Hopkins University.
The country’s latest lockdown requires people to stay home except to run essential errands or to go to certain jobs. Schools, kindergartens, and daycare centers will be closed. Grocery stores will be open, but only for customers who live within walking distance. Even solitary outdoor exercise will be banned.
Critics accuse the government of easing restrictions too early, in March, and say the government failed to secure enough vaccine for the population of 83 million. So far, government data shows that only 9.1 million people have been fully vaccinated.
Mr. Koca on Thursday admitted that there would be vaccine procurement difficulties for the next two months, but on Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied any shortages.
“I do not accept we will have any difficulty,” Mr. Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul after Friday Prayer. “We have already had enough vaccines.’’
He said that “if necessary,” he would speak to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin.
The two leaders have a close but sometimes tense relationship. Russia recently sold an air defense system to Turkey, causing the ire among the country’s fellow NATO members in Europe, and the United States.
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