TEHRAN – The national vaccination program in Iran includes 13 vaccines and the country is following developed countries with an average 17 vaccines in their national vaccination programs, Mostafa Qanei, the secretary general of the Biotechnology Development Headquarters has said.

Knowledge-based companies are operating to produce the four vaccines that are not included in the national vaccination program, he added.

Uterus, influenza, meningococcus and pneumococcal conjugate are the four vaccines that have not been produced domestically.

In May, the health ministry started distributing domestically made pentavalent vaccines across the country. 

“So far, about 800,000 units of the vaccine have been developed, and this number is expected to reach 1.2 million units in the next 2 to 3 days,” IRNA quoted Mehdi Pir-salehi, head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as saying on May 5. 

The pentavalent vaccine was integrated into the national vaccination programme in November 2014. According to the national vaccination program, each child must receive the pentavalent vaccine 3 times at intervals of 2 months. The first is usually at the end of the second month of life. 

The vaccination program to combat pneumococcal and rotavirus kicked off in the country in February 2024 after being missed from the immunization schedule for a decade.

According to the deputy health minister, Alireza Raeisi, children can get free pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccinations in all medical centers across the country.

Pneumococcal vaccine can be injected when babies are 2, 4, and 12 months old; babies can get three doses of the rotavirus vaccine at the 2nd, 4th, and 6th months of life. The vaccine is administered by putting drops in the child’s mouth.

UNICEF and the WHO have supported the health ministry in procuring needed vaccinations and will help introduce new vaccines into the national immunization program.

One of UNICEF’s top priorities is to support the country in adding new vaccines to the immunization program to protect children against more diseases and reduce their mortality, ISNA quoted Mohammad Eslami, an official with UNICEF, as saying.

He made the remarks while addressing a workshop on immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases in Kerman province,  ISNA reported.

Despite sanctions, UNICEF is doing its utmost to provide the vaccines needed and to assist the Ministry of Health to ensure that no child is left behind, the official added.

Highlighting the importance of cold chain systems, Eslami said the main objective is to provide cold chain equipment to preserve the potency of the vaccines.

Currently, the cold chain conditions in the country are good, and the Ministry of Health, with the support of UNICEF, is providing new, standard cold storage facilities to install in areas without out cold chain system.

UNICEF has also provided 17 standard refrigerated vehicles for transporting vaccines, at a safe temperature range, to different parts of the country, he added.

The official went on to say that families and children should learn about the key role of vaccination in preventing life-threatening diseases. Therefore, teaching target groups is among UNICEF’s main activities that will be implemented this year, Eslami further noted.

For his part, Omid Zamani, an official with the WHO, lauded the country’s achievements in immunization programs and said vaccine coverage in Iran is around 97 percent, which is satisfactory.

However, in some border areas and areas inhabited by migrants, children and adults may not have adequate access to vaccination. So, it is essential that the country accurately identifies and covers these areas, as well, he said.

Referring to Rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines added to the national immunization program last year, the official said that in the next five years, three more vaccines will be introduced to the national immunization program.

The regional verification commission for measles and rubella (RVC MR), affiliated with the World Health Organization (WHO), has verified the elimination of the two diseases in the country in 2023.

Measles is potentially a deadly disease. Severe complications include pneumonia, diarrhea, blindness, and encephalitis (brain swelling). Measles vaccines (two doses) are administered at the ages of 12 and 18 months.

The measles vaccination program in Iran started in 1984 when 34 percent of the population was vaccinated in the first year and 90 to 95 percent of the population after 6 years. Also in 2003, 33 million people were vaccinated with a national program to eradicate measles in the country.

The WHO director for the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO), Hannah Balkhi, has lauded the health ministry's efforts and achievements on the elimination of measles and rubella in a letter to the Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi, ISNA reported.

According to the report on the 7th RVC MR in EMRO, Iran has successfully fulfilled all the criteria for measles and rubella elimination.

This achievement is the result of coordinated planning, widespread vaccination, epidemiologic surveillance, and comprehensive participation of the country’s healthcare system. It is a turning point in improving public health, which will strengthen Iran’s position in achieving goals at the regional and international levels.

 In April 2025, the deputy health minister Alireza Raeisi said some 98 percent of the target population in the national program for the immunization against measles had been vaccinated.

However, ten to twenty thousand children under the age of one have yet to get vaccinated, and about five percent of the vaccinated individuals develop measles, IRNA quoted Raeisi as saying.

In January 2025, President Masoud Pezeshkian called the country’s health system a role model in the region and even the world, thanks to its unique, particularly primary healthcare services.

The official made the remarks in a letter addressing a national seminar held in Mashhad to honor healthcare staff, including nursing aids, health ministry website reported.

Lauding the substantial progress made in the health sector, the president said these remarkable achievements are the result of health workers’ ceaseless efforts, such as providing vaccination and prenatal care for pregnant mothers, controlling infectious diseases, promoting health education, sharing knowledge, and training new generations of health staff nationwide.

The notable increase in life expectancy, reduction in infant mortality rate, control of infectious diseases, and reduction in complications from chronic diseases are all due to health workers’ dedication and commitment.