Iran begins vaccination rollout
Iran has started vaccinating medical workers with the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, but officials say general coverage could take over a year.
Iran officially kicked off its long-awaited coronavirus vaccination project Feb. 9 at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Hospital.
The first stage, according to health officials, will focus on medical staff at intensive care units, where they have been battling the pandemic for more than a year. A second phase, for which a timeline has yet to be specified, is expected to cover all Iranians above the age of 65 as well as those suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
President Hassan Rouhani had previously described the day as an “auspicious” one for the Iranian nation, promising that nationwide action will be “swift.” He expressed hope that Iran will be better off in its fight against the virus in the coming months.
According to Mostafa Ghanei, a senior member of Iran’s anti-coronavirus task force, the country’s large-scale vaccination project will be conducted with 16 million doses to be purchased from the international COVAX initiative, 25 million through other imports and 25 million doses of multiple vaccines that are being developed domestically. Doses are not slated to start reaching the general public until March 2022.
