Iranian-made COVIran up to 70% effective against coronavirus

The third phase will involve injecting the jabs to a statistical population of 20,000 volunteers. Developers say they are certain that the vaccine provides immunity of up to 70 percent against the coronavirus. But it’s only after the third phase that an accurate figure can be achieved. 

The Headquarters for the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order, which is in charge of COVIran’s development, says it has already launched the production lines of the vaccines, due to emergency.

COVIran works based on an inactivated coronavirus. Its developers say lab results indicate that it’s also effective against new variants of the virus. Other than COVIran, Iran is working on seven other homegrown vaccines, each based on a different platform to immunize the human body against COVID-19.

The country has already started vaccination of the most vulnerable groups, mainly using Russia’s Sputnik V.

Once the third phase is over, COVIran will be the first Iranian-made vaccine to make its way into the market.

This as Iran is grappling with the fourth and most lethal ever wave of the pandemic, putting vaccine developers in a race against time to get their jabs to the mass production stage.