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World Bank-IMF Turkish Employees Association (WITSA), BioNTech founders, Prof. Dr. Uğur Şahin and Dr. A videoconference event entitled “International cooperation to overcome the epidemic” was organized with the participation of Özlem Türeci.
Moderated by World Bank Chief Economist Sibel Kulaksız, the event discussed how international organizations and the private sector can cooperate to better support global efforts in the fight against current and future epidemics.
“WE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO FINANCE THE PROJECT”
Teacher. Dr. In his speech, Uğur Şahin stated that BioNTech was established to develop immunotherapy treatments for cancer and that they felt a responsibility to do something with the awareness of the epidemic in January last year.
When they decide to start the project, there is no evidence that it is successful, Şahin stated that the goal of the project is to develop a vaccine as soon as possible.
Stating that they did not know what the financing would look like at the beginning of the project, Şahin said: “We did not know how to finance this project. To give an example, our total budget for the next two years was approximately 350 million dollars. And we knew that the project it would cost around 1.5 billion. ” saying.
“WE HAVE SUPPLIED THE VACCINE TO MORE THAN 10 MILLION PEOPLE”
Stating that they knew they only had scientific and technological expertise when starting the project, Şahin pointed out that they now have an effective vaccine.
“We have supplied the vaccine to more than 10 million people, but there is still a lot to accomplish. We want to deliver our vaccine to people around the world. We want to make sure that not only economically developed countries but also developing countries have access to the vaccine “. speak.
Emphasizing the importance of cooperation, Şahin said: “It is very clear that this virus will remain with us. This is not just a temporary problem of 2021 and 2022. This is a challenge for the next 10 years.” saying.
HIGHLIGHTS OF EQUALITY IN VACCINE DISTRIBUTION
Dr. Özlem Türeci explained that they started the project with “speed of light” to develop a fast, reliable and effective vaccine.
Stating that they want to ensure equality in the distribution and access of the vaccine, Türeci emphasized the importance of international cooperation.
Türeci noted that the epidemic was a health crisis of an unprecedented scale and stated that they overcame many obstacles in the development of the vaccine and, likewise, must now overcome obstacles in the distribution of the vaccine.
Noting that low- and middle-income countries have a harder time accessing vaccines compared to developed countries, Türeci said they have storage and transportation difficulties.
