Iran announced the details of its plan to procure 56 million Covid-19 vaccine shots for its population through four different channels as part of its mass inoculation program.
“The first vaccines to arrive in Iran will be a direct purchase from one of the several countries that have received regulatory approval for their vaccines,” Spokesman of Iran Food and Drug Administration Kianoush Jahanpour was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“Next will be Iran’s share from the COVAX initiative,” he added.
COVAX is a global initiative to ensure equitable access to coronavirus vaccines regardless of a nation’s income and attempts to roll out enough vaccines to protect vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021.
Jahanpoour said, “There were problems in the way of money transfer, which have been rectified.”
The government had said that US sanctions are hindering the vaccine purchase.
According to the health official, Iran is jointly producing a vaccine against the infectious disease with Cuba, which is undergoing the second phase of human trials.
“The second phase is currently underway in Cuba under the supervision of Pasteur Institute of Iran. If successful, the third phase of human trials will be carried out in Iran in the final months of the year,” he said.