Iran's supreme leader gets jab of Iranian-made COVID-19 vaccine
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he turned down foreign-made vaccines because receiving Iran's own vaccine is a source of "national honor."
Iran’s supreme leader received the country’s first domestically made coronavirus vaccine on Friday, describing the jab as a source of national pride.
“I did not want to use the non-Iranian vaccine,” state news outlets quoted the 82-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying. “So I said I would wait for the Iranian vaccine because we must respect this national honor.”
Iran began human trials of the COVIran Barekat vaccine in late December, and last week, Iran gave emergency authorization to the vaccine developed by Iranian pharmaceutical company Shifafarmed. Scientists at Iran’s Pasteur Institute are also conducting clinical trials of the Cuban-made Soberana 2 vaccine.
The Health Ministry said on Friday that by the end of August, vulnerable groups, ill patients and people over the age of 60 will be eligible to receive the Iranian vaccine, followed by students and teachers.
