First Shipment Of Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccines Arrives Iran

The first shipment of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Iran yesterday.
According to the state news agency, IRNA, 500,000 doses were imported in the first phase, with more to follow in the coming weeks.
Mass vaccination of Iran’s population of 83 million is expected to begin at the end of this month or in March, the Iranian Health Ministry said.
Priority will be given to doctors, nurses and the elderly.
Earlier this week, there were still concerns on the part of the Iranian Medical Association about the effectiveness of Sputnik V.
But those were dispelled after the Russian vaccine was certified as 91.6 per cent effective, according to an internationally recognised study.
Nevertheless, scientists in Iran demand that political and ideological criteria should not play a role in the selection of foreign vaccines.
In January, the Iranian parliament had pleaded for a ban on Western-produced, and especially U.S-made vaccines, for political reasons.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki, emphasised that he would neither think nor act politically in this regard.
Therefore, according to Namaki, in addition to Russian, Chinese and Indian vaccines, the Swedish-British vaccine AstraZeneca should also be imported.
At the same time, Iran is also working on its own vaccines, as well as on one with Cuban experts, Soberana 02.
Earlier, the mnistry of health certified the domestically produced vaccine Coviran Barekat as highly effective against COVID-19, but this has not yet been confirmed internationally.
Thanks to strict lockdowns since November, the number of dead and infected in Iran has decreased, but between 60 and 70 deaths and over 7,000 new infections are still being registered every day.
In spite of the negative impact, especially on the economic and educational systems, the ministry of Hhealth is against easing the lockdowns.
Since the start of the pandemic almost a year ago, there have been more than 58,000 deaths and more than 1.4 million Coronavirus infections in the country.