Disagreement among Islamic Republic officials about the safety of the Russian vaccine; "To the blindness of many," we will vaccinate "our own family" first!

There is a public disagreement between Islamic Republic officials regarding the use of Chinese and Russian vaccines.

Some Iranian officials have expressed enthusiasm in recent days for purchasing the Russian vaccine known as “Sputnik V.” In his most recent comments, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki, in response to criticism about the safety of the Russian coronavirus vaccine, said: “We are blindly giving the vaccine to our own family first so that people know that their health is more important to us than anything else.”

This is while Hossein Ali Shahriari, head of the Islamic Consultative Assembly's Health and Medical Commission, said: "It is clear that I will not take the Russian vaccine." Of course, he emphasized that the vaccine is not going to be tested on people without transparent clinical trial stages.

On Saturday, Hossein Kermanpour, head of public relations for the Iranian Medical System Organization, also said that the Sputnik V vaccine does not have World Health Organization approval and is only approved by the Iranian Food and Drug Administration, and therefore cannot be used.

Previously, Minoo Mahrez, who is currently a member of the National Headquarters to Combat Corona, had said that as a member of the medical staff, he would not inject this Russian vaccine.

Ms. Mahrez's statements were met with a reaction from Kianoush Jahanpour, spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration in Iran, who said that Minoo Mahrez was not qualified to evaluate the vaccine.

The dispute over the purchase of vaccines made in Russia and China comes at a time when Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has banned the purchase of vaccines from Western countries.

The outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran has killed at least 58,000 people, according to official statistics.

Source: Voice of America