First Shipment of Controversial Russian Vaccine Arrives in Iran Thursday
In coordination with the Ministry of Health, the first shipment of Russian vaccine will enter Iran on Thursday, February 4. Previously, experts have warned against using the Russian vaccine. Reputable international bodies have not yet approved this vaccine.
The spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Organization announced that in coordination with the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control, and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, the first phase of importing the Russian coronavirus vaccine is scheduled to be loaded from Russia by Mahan Airlines and imported into the country on Thursday, February 4.
According to the Farsi News Agency report, Mohammad Hassan Zeibakhsh said regarding the volume and amount of the first shipment that “the volume and doses of Russian coronavirus vaccines in the first batch are determined based on the needs requested by the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education.”
Previously, numerous experts warned against using the Russian vaccine.
Two days earlier, 98 members of the Medical System General Assembly of the Islamic Republic in an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani emphasized that as representatives of the medical community from various cities of the country, they oppose the purchase of “Sputnik V” vaccine and demand the purchase of “the best vaccines available in the world from multinational companies.”
In the production of reputable multinational vaccines that have so far received approval from international bodies, American and British companies are involved.
However, Ayatollah Khamenei has prohibited the import of such vaccines. The Leader of the Islamic Republic on December 9 announced without providing expert reasoning that in his view American and British vaccines are ineffective.
The Sputnik vaccine received national approval for use in Russia about six months ago while the necessary information about the final stages of its clinical trials had not yet been presented to independent bodies and the World Health Organization. The European Union is reviewing this vaccine, and the first comprehensive research on it was recently published in the scientific journal Lancet, which indicates its 91 percent effectiveness.
In the letter from members of the Medical System General Assembly published before the Lancet research was published, while noting that the “efficacy and safety” of Sputnik V vaccine “is met with ambiguity and objections even in the producing country,” they stated the reasons for their opposition as follows:
«A: Transparent information about the research and production phases of Sputnik V vaccine is not available.
B: Sputnik V vaccine has not been approved by any of the credible global sources and its efficacy and safety have been questioned by international bodies and even scientific figures of the coronavirus headquarters.
C: Documents, evidence and reasons for approving this vaccine have not been made available to experts in the medical community.»
The letter further states that for “Iran’s medical community and people,” such consideration is “unacceptable and unforgivable.”
Earlier, Minu Mehraz, a member of the scientific committee of the coronavirus control headquarters, had said that she considers the import of Russian vaccine “bad luck for the Iranian people” and is unwilling to have it administered.
Use of Russian Vaccine Currently Ruled Out in European Union
Russia announced last Friday, January 29, that it is ready to provide 100 million doses of “Sputnik V” vaccine to European countries, with which 50 million people could be vaccinated.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper on Sunday, January 31, quoted the German health minister on this matter: «If a vaccine is assessed as effective and safe, regardless of which country it is produced in, it can help combat the coronavirus pandemic.»
He emphasized that the determining factor in this regard is the issuance of a regular license for each vaccine in accordance with European Union regulations. “The European Medicines Agency” is the only decision-making body for issuing licenses for medicines and vaccines in European countries.
However, this agency has not so far approved any Chinese and Russian vaccines, and given the precondition that the German health minister called decisive, at least for now there is no possibility of using vaccines produced by these two countries in the European Union.
Russia claims that it has submitted an application for approval of the Sputnik vaccine to the European Medicines Agency.
So far, three coronavirus vaccines in which pharmaceutical companies from Germany, the United States, and Britain participate in their production have been approved by the “European Medicines Agency” and are used in European countries: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines.
