TEHRAN, Iran, May 3
Trend:
Iranian government is making all efforts to import the COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Ministry of Health, despite problems with foreign currency, said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Trend reports via IRNA.
"We're still holding [nuclear] talks in Vienna, and there has been progress, but we're still under sanctions, and no agreement has been reached that could solve our problems," Rouhani said. "We're still facing obstacles."
He pointed out that the supply of foreign currency is one of the pressing issues.
Speaking of the vaccines, he said Iran has ordered the supply of vaccines from various countries, and they're arriving to Iran.
"The healthcare workers have already received the vaccine," he said. "The second phase is vaccination of elderly and individuals with underlying medical conditions has been started. We hope to gradually complete this phase by June. The next group to get vaccinated is individuals that have more contact with people including drivers, police and border control forces."
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. 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 pandemic hit a wide range of businesses in Iran since its outbreak in mid-February.
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.