Iran’s Ministry of Health: No Private Company Could Import Coronavirus Vaccine

The head of the Food and Drug Organization affiliated with the Ministry of Health says that following a resolution by the national coronavirus taskforce, we attempted to facilitate coronavirus vaccine imports by the private sector, but no company succeeded in importing the vaccine.

Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz said on Sunday, June 9 that major vaccine manufacturers in the world, even Pfizer, have announced that we work with governments and so far vaccines have never been supplied or sold to the private sector in any way, and this issue applies to other vaccine manufacturers worldwide.

After Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opposed the import of American and British vaccines into the country, and coinciding with the intensification of coronavirus spread, President Hassan Rouhani announced that private companies could import vaccines.

However, it appears this promise was made while the Iranian government knew that the possibility of vaccine purchases by private companies did not exist.

Mr. Shanehsaz said on Sunday that to date, none of the letters of introduction and negotiations by the private sector have resulted in vaccine imports.

The Iranian government, in the midst of opposition from Iran’s leader and extensive propaganda by institutions and media affiliated with the leadership and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps for domestically-produced vaccines, ultimately proceeded to import vaccines from China and Russia after considerable delays and postponements.

Iran’s Ministry of Health says that so far approximately four million doses of vaccine have been administered. This is while, given the country’s population, more than 150 million vaccine doses are needed.

Source: Radio Farda