Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki announced on Tuesday that the second phase of general vaccination against coronavirus started in the country, adding that 3 cases of Africa-originated COVID-19 infection have been identified in Southern Iran.
“We faced the disloyalty of vaccine suppliers in this process and the vaccination of the first group (in Iran) was completed late and with a delay of two weeks. The second phase started today,” Namaki said.
He added that the third phase of the clinical trial of one of the most effective vaccines in the world, which was carried out by transferring technical know-how from Cuba, has started in Iran, noting that the country is also due to produce Sputnik-V vaccine inside Iran in cooperation with Russia which will accelerate vaccination of people in the country.
Namaki also voiced concern that three cases of infection to a coronavirus mutation that has first been recorded in Africa have been reported in one of the country’s Southern provinces.
Iranian Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Monday that foreign states have failed to supply Iran with its needed coronavirus vaccines based on contract, but meantime stressed that Iran is hopeful to immune the nation against the COVID-19 with its home-grown vaccines.
“Given the fact that 85% of vaccines in the world are produced in 8 countries, we cannot count so much on these vaccines. The promises made by the vaccine producing countries have not been fulfilled and the vials supplied to the country have been way lower than what has been undertaken [by the foreign suppliers]; yet we are still hopeful to see that the Iranian vaccines would reach the mass-production stage soon,” Lari said.
She noted that several Iranian companies are producing coronavirus vaccines, saying that COV-Iran Barekat and Pasteur Institute’s vaccines have entered the third phase of human trial.