Tehran, Iran, June 27
By Mehdi Sepahvand -Trend:
Iran is going to import seasonal flu vaccine from Russia for the first time.
The country has signed a contract on importing the vaccine from Russia and the Health Ministry has sent experts to Russia to inspect the production of the vaccine, Hesamoddin Madani, CEO of Iran's Red Crescent Society Medical Procurement Organization said.
He added Iran is importing the vaccine from Russia in order to break a Western monopoly in the Iranian drug import, Mehr news agency reported June 27.
There are a number of problems in importing drugs from the West, one of which is West-made drugs are more expensive, the official said.
The second problem is that due to sanctions, it is difficult to pay for the drugs, he added.
Madani further noted that the third factor making drug import from Western countries difficult is the time lapse between the order and the delivery.
He said the vaccine used to be imported from France and England so far. However, he maintained that imports from those countries are not going to be stopped fully.
It is intended by breaking the monopoly to reduce prices and improve quality, he stated.
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