A total of 92.85 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been imported to Iran in 65 shipments, according to Mehrdad Jamal Arvanaghi, the technical deputy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Sinopharm accounts for the lion's share with 81.73 million doses, followed by AstraZeneca with 6.47 million doses, COVAX with 2.15 million, Sputnik V with 1.37 million doses and Bharat (COVAXIN) with 1.13 million doses, the news portal of IRICA reported.
The vaccines have been imported from China, Japan, Italy, Russia, India, Austria, South Korea and Greece.
The total value of all Covid-19 vaccines imported to Iran from Feb. 3 to Sept. 12 stood at $421 million, Arvanaghi said earlier.
“Each Sinopharm vaccine made in China costs $9.2, AstraZeneca made in China $4, AstraZeneca made in Japan $4, COVAX made in Italy $4, Sputnik V made in Russia $10, AstraZeneca made in Russia $6.5, COVAX made in South Korea $4 and AstraZeneca made in Austria $4 and Bharat [COVAXIN] made in India $14.5,” he said.
“Some of the imported vaccines have been donated to Iran and the import process is continuing.”
Nasser Riahi, the chairman of Iranian Pharmaceutical Importers Association, said 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines will have been imported to Iran by the end of 2021 as per contracts signed with international manufacturers.
The private sector representative said Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a vaccine-sharing program coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and the World Health Organization that ensures the equitable distribution of vaccines for poor and middle-income countries.
“Iran’s share of COVAX-supplied doses is estimated to stand at 16.8 million for 25% of the population,” he added.
Riahi noted that contracts were signed for the import of 30-50 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, but the neighboring country failed to fully deliver on its promises.
The vaccination process in Iran has gained pace, as the new administration led by President Ebrahim Raeisi has put it on top of its agenda.
Iran is supplied with weekly shipments of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine as part of containment efforts.
Anyone over the age of 12 is eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine shot in the country.
So far, over 18 million people have been fully vaccinated and about 44 million have received the first dose.
Only a handful of cities throughout the country remain on red alert, from a previous high of over 350.
Iran ramped up vaccine rollout when the disease’s resurgence overwhelmed its healthcare system in the summer.