Iran has started the nationwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19, using Russia's Sputnik V jabs.
The first person to receive the vaccine in the country was Parsa Namaki, the son of the Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki.
According to the health ministry's plan, the first to be inoculated are the medical and service workers employed at intensive care units where COVID-19 patients are hospitalized.
In a second stage, people aged over 65 with underlying diseases across the country will be vaccinated.
The Iranian Ministry of Health announced 89 new deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 58,625.
As reported by the ministry's official website, 7,640 new infections were confirmed between Monday and Tuesday, leading to an overall count of 1,481,396 cases in the country.
Head of Iran’s Food and Drug Administration Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz says the country has purchased 2 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik-V COVID-19 vaccine, whose first shipment arrived in Iran last week.
Iran received the first shipment of the Sputnik-V vaccine, after the vaccine’s efficacy was reported to be around 92%.
The medical journal the Lancet published an article proving its effectiveness based on trial vaccination of nearly 22,000 volunteers. Seventy-five percent of the participants received the vaccine, while the rest were given placebos.
The vaccine imports are made as inhumane US sanctions have affected Iran’s ability to make the payment for importing vaccines as well as life-saving medical equipment.
Iran’s Pasteur Institute is planning to produce a vaccine named Soberana 2 in collaboration with Cuba’s Finlay Institute.
Iran is also testing its first coronavirus vaccine, called Coviran Barekat, which will be rolled out in early April.
The country also launched the first phase in the human trial of its second COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute on Monday.