Recommendations on vaccination are made as a result of meticulous examination of the studies, observations and evaluations carried out throughout the World and Turkey by the Coronavirus Scientific Committee of Turkish Ministry of Health. The pandemic is a dynamic process, these recommendations may change as new information becomes available. You can follow the social media accounts of Turkish Ministry of Health and the web sites of covid19asi.saglik.gov.tr, covid19.saglik.gov.tr for up-to-date information.

Although more than one type of COVID-19 vaccine can be administered in our country during the process, inactive COVID-19 vaccine (Sinovac) and mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Biontech) are currently being administered.

First check your vaccination status on the e-Nabız application:
To check if you are considered eligible to get the vaccine, you need to log into e-Nabız.

You can also check your vaccination status via SMS:
You may also find out whether you are eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine by text message (SMS). Type "AŞI", then your Turkish ID Number and the last 4 digits of your Turkish ID Serial Number, leave a space between each of these numbers, and then send the text message (SMS) to 2023. (E.g. AŞI 12345678910 1234) 

Booking a vaccination appointment:
If you are eligible to get the vaccine, you can make an appointment for vaccination via the Central Physician Appointment System (MHRS web, MHRS mobile) or e-Nabız. To minimize the risk of contact, please do not attend healthcare facilities without an appointment.

The COVID-19 vaccines will be administered mainly at Family Health Centers and and public and private hospitals where vaccination services are provided by the Provincial Health Directorates. Immunization teams from Community Health Centers and District Health Directorates provide on-site vaccination services at vaccination stations established at other public areas.   . The healthcare staff of the home health care system administer the vaccines to individuals registered with the system at their home addresses. 
COVID-19 vaccines administered at designated healthcare facilities providing vaccination services are completely free of charge, courtesy of the Turkish Ministry of Health.

Vaccination services are carried out at healthcare facilities in accordance with the health measures of the COVID-19 pandemic. Persons seeking vaccination services must make an appointment before going to the healthcare facility for the sake of both public health and individual safety. Booking appointments will help in preventing crowding and minimizing the risk of contact. In addition, individuals must wear a mask, socially distance and follow hygiene measures when attending any healthcare facility, even when receiving the vaccine.

As with all vaccines included in the National Vaccination Schedule of the Turkish Ministry of Health, the COVID-19 vaccine is also subject to assessment by the Turkish Ministry of Health, Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TİTCK). The vaccine can only be administered upon TİTCK’s approval in light of the required test results.

Vaccine development studies for COVID-19 are also carried out in our country. After the successful completion of the phase stages of these vaccines, vaccine production is planned.

The COVID-19 vaccines are the second most quickly developed vaccines following the 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic vaccines in the speed of their development and public use. Pre-existing familiarity with the COVID-19 virus family, Coronaviridae, knowledge about their biology and behavior have all played key roles in the quick development of these vaccines. Scientific progress in easier accessibility and dissemination of information amongst the scientific community, advancements in molecular genetics, development of health technology and exponential advancement of clinical studies are the main scientific developments that have enabled the development of the vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines, as with all vaccines and medicines, have been developed according to strict legal requirements on quality, safety, and efficacy.

No vaccine can be approved or released to the market without successfully passing all phases of clinical studies and the results of these studies being rigorously scrutinized by the relevant authorities. Vaccine developers need to comply with the following international quality standards during the development and production process: Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Good Clinical Practices (GCP), and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Any potentially harmful findings that arise during clinical studies necessitate a pause in trials. Research only then resumes if it becomes certain that the harmful findings are not caused by the vaccine. The same strict measures apply to vaccination trials. 
The COVID-19 vaccine studies conducted in Turkey thus far have not found any side effects that would necessitate a pause in trials. No concerns about vaccine safety during vaccination trials have yet been noted.

The vaccines used in our country have been administered to millions of people all over the world. Around the world, vaccines continue to be administered with immediate use approval following accelerated phase 3 results. There are some procedures for the completion of usage approval. Vaccines cannot be approved without phase studies, appropriate quality standards and transparent sharing of results. These studies are stopped when serious side effects occur during the research process. During the pandemic, pre-approval may be given after rigorous examinations by the competent authorities. The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2) administered in our country, produced by the Biontech company, is the first fully approved COVID-19 vaccine [August 23, 2021 / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)]. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.

The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine is an inactivated (dead) viral vaccine, which triggers an immune response within the body. The inactive vaccine is obtained by eliminating the pathogenic features of the COVID-19 agent, Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), through exposure to chemical and physical agents.

Produced by Sinovac company, the CoronaVac contains SARS-CoV-2 antigen (600SU) as the active ingredient, aluminium hydroxide (0,45 mg/ml) as an adjuvant, sodium chloride as an isotonic agent (9mg/ml), disodium hydrogen phosphate (1,16 mg/ml) and monosodium hydrogen phosphate (0,2 mg/ml) as buffering agents, sodium hydroxide as a pH regulator, and water. 
The CoronaVac vaccine contains the SARS-CoV-2 antigen; in other words, inactivated COVID-19 viruses, as the active ingredient. These viruses, which have lost their ability to cause disease, do not create an infection risk when given to the body, but help to produce antibodies and gain immunity.
The CoronaVac vaccine contains aluminum hydroxide as an auxiliary substance, and this substance helps to increase the body's response to the weakened viruses contained in the vaccine.
The salt in the vaccine, called sodium chloride, helps to adjust the vaccine density in accordance with the body fluids, while sodium hydroxide provides the necessary acid-base balance for the vaccine content to be stored for a long period of time.
Monosodium and disodium hydrogen sulphate are the substances used to prevent the vaccine from losing its antigenic feature.
Water is used to hold all these ingredients together.

There are no porcine products in the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine cleared for use in Turkey.

Inactivated COVID-19 vaccine is administered two doses, each dose four weeks apart.

Clinical studies show that inactivated COVID-19 vaccine provides protection against the infection. Studies for the duration of protection of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines reveal that healthcare workers at high risk and people over 50 may need a third dose.
Additional studies are ongoing to reach definitive information for all age groups.