Rouhani says first shipment of coronavirus vaccine will arrive in the country in the coming weeks

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Tuesday the purchase of the coronavirus vaccine and the start of vaccination in the coming weeks.

Hassan Rouhani, at a meeting of the heads of specialized committees of the National Headquarters for Combating Corona, said, "Providing corona vaccines is one of the country's priorities," without mentioning the type, quantity, or conditions for purchasing the corona vaccine.

According to Hassan Rouhani, the government is determined to begin the vaccination operation in the country in accordance with the designed schedule of the target population within the coming weeks, with the arrival of the first shipment of purchased vaccines.

At the same time, a member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution announced the purchase of more than 42 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine. However, the official did not announce the type of vaccine purchased.

According to IRNA, Mansour Kabganian, deputy head of the steering committee for implementing the country's comprehensive scientific plan, said that the COVID-19 vaccine is being prepared in three ways.

According to Mansour Kabganian, 16.8 million doses were obtained through COVAX, and Iran's condition to the World Health Organization (WHO) was that this vaccine would not be based on the American Pfizer platform. The next figure is 25 million doses of vaccine through imports other than the World Health Organization (WHO).

Mansour Kabganian has predicted that 25 million doses of the vaccine will be supplied by May or at the latest by Khordad 1402 by domestic manufacturers, technologists, and knowledge-based companies.

This member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution emphasized that it is important not to buy vaccines from the few countries that are known enemies of Iran because, according to him, some of these vaccines are based on unknown platforms.

The Leader of the Islamic Republic announced on January 9 that the entry of American and British coronavirus vaccines into Iran is "prohibited."

Khamenei's remarks about banning the import of certain vaccines were met with widespread negative reactions both inside and outside the country, with many users on social media describing his order as "hostage-taking."

In this regard, Amnesty International called Ali Khamenei's order a gamble with the lives of millions of people, and World Health Organization officials called on the Iranian government not to politicize the vaccine issue.

However, in the Iranian political atmosphere, a wave of comments from members of parliament and government officials praising the words of the Iranian leader and against foreign vaccines, especially the American Pfizer vaccine, emerged.

The pessimism of Iranian government officials, especially Ali Khamenei, in this regard is well-known. He had previously declared that the coronavirus was created by the United States.

Source: Radio Farda