The emergency authorization application for the domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine Turkovac has been submitted to the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TITCK), Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced Thursday.

Axar.az reports that Koca was speaking in the capital Ankara during the Planning and Budget Commission meeting at Parliament.

The vaccine, previously known as ERUCOV-VAC, is an inactive COVID-19 vaccine. A similar jab, CoronaVac developed by Chinese firm Sinovac, had formed the backbone of the country's vaccination program before messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines were available in greater numbers.

The Phase 3 trials of the vaccine are almost complete, a member of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board recently said.

In a separate statement, Koca said Wednesday that Turkey will donate 10 million vaccine doses through the COVAX facility, a mechanism to get vaccines to underdeveloped countries

The health minister and World Health Organization's Regional Director Hans Kluge also spoke via telephone Wednesday.

"We can only manage this pandemic with solidarity. As we face a difficult winter, I am grateful to @drfahrettinkoca & Turkey for the generous offer to receive #COVID19 patients if needed, to support European countries with overwhelmed health systems & ICUs," Kluge wrote on Twitter.