At least 40 volunteers received the Pfizer and BioNTech pharmaceutical firms' novel coronavirus vaccine candidate in northwestern Turkey, the head of a medical school in the region said Friday.

Axar.az informs that in an online statement, Dr. Oguz Karabay, the head of Sakarya University's Faculty of Medicine, said Phase 3 trials of the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate vaccine began and were ongoing on many volunteers across the globe.

The volunteers mainly comprise of health workers and academics, but include others as well, said Karabay.

"The vaccine was administered to 40 volunteers. Satisfactory results have been achieved with the Pfizer-BioNTech company's vaccine. Volunteers who received vaccines are followed up by the Adult Vaccine Polyclinic in the Sakarya Training and Research Hospital infection service," he added.

Karabay further urged everyone to follow the measures against the virus and stressed the importance of personal hygiene, mask wearing, and social distance.

"We're aware that citizens want to help healthcare professionals. So, measures should be followed meticulously and one must not venture outside unless necessary," he said.