Health minister: Iranians to receive home-made vaccine soon

Iranian Health Minister Sa'eed Namaki announced on Tuesday that the country’s people will soon be vaccinated against COVID-19 with home-made vaccines.

“The first injection of Iran-made vaccines alongside the imported vaccines will be made in the current month (of Khordad which started on May 22),” Namaki said in the Western city of Ilam.

According to Fars news agency, he added that the general vaccination program will continue in the next phases in summer.

Head of the COV-Iran Barekat vaccine project at the Headquarters for Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (HEIKO) Hassan Jalili said on Monday that the country is among the 10 world states with the capability to produce coronavirus vaccine.

“We are now among the first ten countries that could claim to have produced the coronavirus vaccine and have the ability to mass-produce it,” Jalili said in an interview with Khamenei.ir website on Monday.

“As far as I know, seven countries around the world have asked us to buy the vaccine,” he said, adding that a number of countries have raised their request in written and some others have asked for their vaccine during phone talks with Iranian officials.

“Those that have filed a written request have asked for 20 million doses of vaccine in the first phase,” Jalili said, adding that the health ministry should decide about the time for exports once domestic needs are met.

He underscored Iran’s long experience in developing and producing vaccines, saying that certain states that currently have vaccine production technology borrowed this technology from Iran and the country has helped them to develop vaccines.

ME