TEHRAN, Iran, May.8
Trend:
Iran needs to import the Coronavirus vaccine from abroad, said the Iranian President.
I have emphasized the issue of vaccine and in this state, we need to import Coronavirus vaccine, said Hassan Rouhani, Trend reports citing IRNA.
"The best vaccine is the first vaccine and there should not be a delay for production of domestic vaccines," he said.
President went on to note that vaccine that has 80 to 90 percent effect should be immediately used. Health care workers should be vaccinated as the first group and the vaccination of the second group for over the age of 80 has started and ongoing and will complete in the coming days, the next group would be individuals with underlying medical conditions.
"It is expected that 1 million doses of vaccine would be available for us in coming days and 8 million doses would arrive around May 20. Meanwhile, we hope COVAX would provide several million doses of vaccines to vaccinate 14 million people that are our priority, and curb mortality rates. About 70 percent of the population should be vaccinated to curb the infection cycle and mortality rate by June until the next government comes," Rouhani added.
"The domestic vaccine would hit the market in summer, the vaccine jointly produced by Pasteur Institute and Cuba would reach people faster and other vaccines would gradually be available as the situation improves," he stressed.
"The government has provided medical supplies and ventilators to hospitals. We had purchased 16 million doses of COVAX and 10 million new vaccines that recently arrived that make total purchased vaccines a 30 million doses," the president stated.