BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9
Trend:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced his readiness to be the first person to receive the Russian Sputnik vaccine in order to assure people of the Vaccine`s safety.
The son of the Iranian Minister of Health, Saeed Namaki, was the first to be vaccinated today on February 9, Trend reports citing ILNA.
"The fact that the son of the Minister of Health is the first to inject the vaccine means that the vaccine is reliable," President Hassan Rouhani said at the ceremony of beginning the national vaccination plan to protect against COVID-19.
"I announced that I was ready to be the first person to receive the vaccine. People need to know that if we declare something, we believe in it," he added.
Iran started its first coronavirus vaccinations on February 9 using Russia’s Sputnik V shot, in an event attended by the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education.
The shots will be given to medical personnel tending to serious cases of the disease in intensive care units from Feb. 9, Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki said on Sunday, without giving more details, according to state-run Islamic Republic News Agency
The spokesman for the government’s coronavirus task force said in the statement that the vaccines will be free of charge.
Iran has reported more than 1.4 million cases and almost 60,000 deaths so far.