Prof. Şahin: We have stored enough doses of vaccines for Turkey

* Source and news: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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BioNTech's CEO and Co-Founder Prof. Uğur Şahin has said that he is confident their novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is effective against the new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom (UK).

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Prof. Şahin, who co-founded the Germany-based biotechnology company with Dr. Özlem Türeci, has stressed that he does not see any problem with the effectiveness of their vaccine, which they developed with Pfizer, against mutations.

"This is not the first time the virus mutates. There were several mutations before. We checked all the mutations in the past and we don't see any problem," he said and added, "It would take two weeks to check the new mutations but we are not afraid. We need to check but there is no such thing that the vaccine is not going to be effective."

Indicating that the studies on the new mutation in the UK is limited, Şahin said, "All we know until today is that it's new. Some people say it is transmitted from person to person more quickly. We brought the genetic mutations to our lab and will start working on it."

He further indicated that they believe "even if 1 percent of the virus has mutated, 99 percent can still be consolidated."

Approval by the European Medicines Agency

Şahin said that he was pleased by the approval of European Medicines Agency (EMA) Monday, adding: "It was a great job for those who contributed [to the development of the vaccine]. This is another important step. I'm very happy but also very focused. As always, I have to think about what the next step is. There isn't much time for emotions.

"This is a very important development for us. The European Medicines Agency sets an example for other countries. We will send the vaccine to 27 countries, and they will start vaccination. Of course, we do not have enough vaccine doses right now. At first, every country will receive hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses. In January and February, maybe we'll have the opportunity to increase the number to 10-15 million doses."

'Virus will never be fully defeated'

Prof. Şahin also said that they have stored enough doses of vaccines for Turkey, adding that negotiations continue and that it is possible to sign a contract soon. Noting that the development of the vaccine still continues, he said, "Our employees work both in Germany and Belgium as well as in the US. The vaccine is constantly being developed there."

Referring to the delivery of the vaccine, he said, "Now the first delivery is important. Then people can start to get vaccinated. We will ship more when it's needed." He added that vaccination is not an easy process as there are 500 million Europeans who need to be vaccinated.

"This is not very fast. In my opinion, it takes until the summer to achieve a high vaccination rate," he told Anadolu Agency. Stressing that the coronavirus will never be fully defeated, he said what they want to achieve is to overcome the situation where people have to stay home.

"We can achieve this if everyone works well on it and we can deliver enough doses of vaccines," he also said and added, "We can achieve this by the end of the summer," he noted, adding: "It's easier during the summer. Because the virus is less active in summer. And people are usually outdoors, where the risk of infection is lower. What is important is to survive the winter."

He stressed the significance of reaching 60-70 percent vaccination rate before the start of winter next year.

'I was lucky because I went to college'

Şahin was born in Turkey's southern province of İskenderun in 1965 and moved to Germany when he was 4 years old.

He said he has relatives in Turkey and talks to them from time to time. But he added that he hasn't been to his hometown İskenderun for almost 30 years, adding that most of his relatives moved to major cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, and Mersin. "Of course, they are all proud and excited and send us good wishes. This is beautiful," he said.

When asked if he sees himself as a role model, he answered: "No. I was lucky because I went to college."

"I'm lucky that I was able to achieve some specific things and I'm with wonderful people. Every person, who goes after their duties and talents, is a role model. I'm doing what any person should do," he added. (AÖ/SD)