Iran unveils new COVID vaccine: ‘Razi Covo-Pars’

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Addressing the unveiling ceremony, the Iranian Minister of Agriculture Kazem Khavazi congratulated the nation for the scientific achievements against the coronavirus. “The vaccine is made by a special team of Iranian doctors, pharmacists, veterinarians, and chemists at the Razi Institute, which fully complies with the instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” Khavazi said.

“This vaccine has been produced under the direct supervision of the Iranian Ministry of Health and in full cooperation with the Medical Equipment Department,” he said, “We hope to successfully pass the 1st and 2nd-in-human trials.”

his Institute began its activities in the year 1925 by producing a vaccine against Rinderpest under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture. Rinderpest at the time had caused large casualties in the cattle population of the country, but the Razi institute team very rapidly took up the research and production of the Rinderpest vaccine.

Iran will begin COVID-19 vaccination rollout this week, President Hassan Rouhani announced on Saturday, two days after the first shipment of Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine arrived in Tehran.

The announcement comes amid fears of a fourth wave of the coronavirus that was first reported in Iran in February last year, marking one year of the pandemic.

The first shipment of Sputnik V vaccine, the only foreign vaccine to be registered and approved in Iran, arrived by Iran’s Mahaan Airlines on Thursday.

In the first phase of vaccination, Rouhani said high-risk groups including healthcare workers on the frontline, followed by the elderly and those with critical ailments, will be administered the vaccine.

He said the vaccination program for the entire population of 80 million will take around eight months, as the second shipment of the Russian vaccine is expected to arrive by late February.