Health Minister: Home-Made Vaccine Ready for Iranians

“The second phase of the (human trial of vaccines produced by) Pasteur and Barekat Institutes has accomplished and the third phase is in progress, and with the start of the third phase, which is mass production and injection, the Iranian vaccine is ready for vaccination next week in June and the end of spring,” Namaki said, addressing a ceremony in the Northern city of Rasht.

He also added that the health ministry plans to inaugurate 1,400 medical projects across Iran which includes supplying 14,000 more beds for patients.

Head of the COV-Iran Barekat vaccine project at the Headquarters for the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order (HEIKO) Hassan Jalili announced production of 1mln doses of coronavirus vaccine in the country, saying that the capacity for the production of the home-made vaccine will increase to over 18mln doses in September.

“Mass-production of vaccines has been on agenda since the day we started the clinical trial phase; now we have two production lines in Shafafarmed company and the second industrial phase will be put into operation in the near future,” Jalili said on Sunday.

He noted that the industrial production phase of the COV-Iran vaccine began a few weeks ago, and added, “Now we have produced one million doses of vaccines and we are ready to provide them to the health ministry after going through the legal procedures.”

“We are trying to produce 3 million doses of vaccine in June. We will increase the capacity in July and we will produce  more than 18 million doses in September, while our researchers have also increased the efficiency of the vaccine,” Jalili said.

Namaki announced last Tuesday that the country’s people will soon be vaccinated against COVID-19 with home-made vaccines.

“The first injection of Iran-made vaccines alongside the imported vaccines will be made in the current month (of Khordad which started on May 22),” Namaki said in the Western city of Ilam.

He added that the general vaccination program will continue in the next phases in summer.

Jalili said last Monday that the country is among the 10 world states with the capability to produce coronavirus vaccine.

“We are now among the first ten countries that could claim to have produced the coronavirus vaccine and have the ability to mass-produce it,” Jalili said in an interview with Khamenei.ir website on Monday.

“As far as I know, seven countries around the world have asked us to buy the vaccine,” he said, adding that a number of countries have raised their request in written and some others have asked for their vaccine during phone talks with Iranian officials.

“Those that have filed a written request have asked for 20 million doses of vaccine in the first phase,” Jalili said, adding that the health ministry should decide about the time for exports once domestic needs are met.

He underscored Iran’s long experience in developing and producing vaccines, saying that certain states that currently have vaccine production technology borrowed this technology from Iran and the country has helped them to develop vaccines.