ISTANBUL — Turkey is starting clinical trials of potential vaccines for the novel coronavirus, working with drugmakers in China, the United States and other countries.

On Wednesday, three Turkish health workers at an Ankara research hospital began Phase III trials of Chinese manufacturer Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at a news conference after a meeting with the government’s coronavirus task force. The trial will eventually be expanded to 10,000 volunteers and the vaccine’s effectiveness in creating antibodies will become clear within a month.

Turkey will also participate in US drugmaker Pfizer’s clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine that will soon begin in Istanbul, he said late on Wednesday. It may approve Phase III trials of a Russian treatment as early as next week once it determines that problems with the drug have been resolved, he said. He did not specify the problems. 

“Our citizens may have genetic or regional differences. To see if this has an impact, we believe it is important to take different actions. So we are not working with just these three vaccines but are closely cooperating on other vaccines,” Koca said. “We are engaged in efforts to obtain at an early stage the vaccine that gives us confidence and results.”