TEHRAN, Iran, July 10
Trend:
The Head of Iran University of Medical Sciences Jalil Kouhpayeh-Zadeh said that first human trials of the coronavirus vaccine will be carried out in the next two months, Trend reports via Mehr News Agency.
“A lot of research has been done on the coronavirus vaccine internationally, and more than 10 groups are doing research on coronavirus vaccine in Iran,” Kouhpayeh-Zadeh said.
“Vaccine compounds have several phases, and the types of vaccines are different," he added.
“Iran will probably be able to obtain samples of the coronavirus vaccine by fall or early winter which can be used internationally,” he noted.
Kouhpayeh-Zadeh went on to say that two research groups at Iran University of Medical Sciences are working on the vaccine production.
“If the next steps are successful, the vaccine will be mass-produced", he added.
The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.
The Islamic Republic of Iran only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.