Iran's Covid-19 Vaccination Plans Detailed

Iran announced the details of its plan to procure 56 million Covid-19 vaccine shots for its population through four different channels as part of its mass inoculation program.
“The first vaccines to arrive in Iran will be a direct purchase from one of the several countries that have received regulatory approval for their vaccines,” Spokesman of Iran Food and Drug Administration Kianoush Jahanpour was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“Next will be Iran’s share from the COVAX initiative,” he added. 
COVAX is a global initiative to ensure equitable access to coronavirus vaccines regardless of a nation’s income and attempts to roll out enough vaccines to protect vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021. 
Jahanpoour said, “There were problems in the way of money transfer, which have been rectified.” 
The government had said that US sanctions are hindering the vaccine purchase. 
According to the health official, Iran is jointly producing a vaccine against the infectious disease with Cuba, which is undergoing the second phase of human trials.
“The second phase is currently underway in Cuba under the supervision of Pasteur Institute of Iran. If successful, the third phase of human trials will be carried out in Iran in the final months of the year,” he said.
Mostafa Qanei, the head of the Science Committee of National Coronavirus Headquarters, noted that 16.8 million shots will be delivered through COVAX, 25.5 million via imports and the remaining 25 million shots will be produced locally. 

Volunteers in Good Health Condition

An official with Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Hamed Hosseini, said the first three volunteers injected with Iran’s domestically manufactured vaccine are in good health conditions. 
“Based on the country’s Covid-19 vaccine protocols, volunteers need to be observed for seven days,” he added. 
The Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order launched human trials for its experimental vaccine last Tuesday. The vaccine will be tested on 56 volunteers during the first phase.  
EIKO will be able to produce 10 million doses a month by the end of summer. 
Over 6,286 have contracted the virus known to cause Covid-19 on Friday, taking the national tally to 1.23 million, the spokeswoman of Health Ministry, Sima Sadat Lari, said. 
“The illness claimed the lives of 114 within 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 55,337,” she added.
Over 83.9 million have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past year and the global death toll has soared past 1.82 million.