TEHRAN – The Iranian-made COVID-19 vaccine has not had any side effects so far, while similar foreign vaccines have had adverse effects, Mohammad Mokhber, the head of the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam said.

The Headquarters unveiled COVIRAN BAREKAT, the first coronavirus vaccine made by Iranian researchers, on December 29, 2020.

On January 11, the second dose of COVIRAN was injected into the three volunteers. So far, 14 people have received the first dose of the vaccine, and this number should reach 56 people in the clinical study phase.

Laboratory vaccine production is an important issue, but what matters most is its mass production. Over the next month, 2-4 million doses of vaccine will be produced monthly, which will reach up to 4-24 million doses, Mokhber highlighted.

“European countries asked us for masks and medicine, while we have not been in need of the West in any way since the outbreak,” he stated, YJC reported on Tuesday.

During his January 8 speech, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the Iranian-developed COVID-19 vaccine as “a source of pride,” underlining that no one should deny the breakthrough.

He also prohibited importing American and British Covid-19 vaccines due to their unreliable testing.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed out that Iranian researchers have tested their vaccine on humans and they will develop an even better and more effective vaccine.

“Importing American and British vaccines into the country is forbidden. I have said this to officials and I am saying it publicly now. If the Americans had managed to produce a vaccine, this corona disaster would not have occurred in their own country. 

If they know how to produce a vaccine and if their Pfizer company can produce a vaccine, why would they give it to us? Well, they can use it for themselves so that they will not have so many deaths and so many victims. The same is true of England. Therefore, they are not trustworthy. I do not really trust them,” the Leader stated.

Mass vaccination by next 2 months

On Saturday, President Hassan Rouhani said the government is trying its best to start mass vaccination against the coronavirus by the next two months with the priority given to medical staff and high-risk individuals.

The COVAX vaccines will be provided to the country by the end of the current [Iranian calendar] year (March 20) or at the beginning of the next [Iranian calendar] year, Rouhani said at a meeting of the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control.

Other vaccines have also been purchased which will be available soon, he noted, adding, a co-produced vaccine called “Pasteur” will also be mass-produced during the spring.

Referring to the homegrown vaccines, he announced that two domestic vaccines that have been licensed for the clinical trial will also be available by the next summer.

FB/MG