TEHRAN – Fakhra vaccine, named after martyred nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was unveiled and started the clinical trial on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

The first dose of the vaccine was injected into the son of martyr Fakhrizadeh.

From the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, relying on specialized, committed, and experienced forces, with the efforts of martyr Fakhrizadeh, the fight against the disease began.

The production of various diagnostic kits of COVID-19 and mobile specialized laboratories was the starting point of this fight.

The process of research and development of Fakhra vaccine began in March 2020, by isolating the virus from among 35,000 samples of Iranian patients and performing various tests to identify the virus, so that the vaccine reached the experimental production stage in June 2020.

COVIRAN BAREKAT, the first coronavirus vaccine made by researchers at the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam which was unveiled on December 29, 2020, started to be mass-produced on Monday.

The second Iranian coronavirus vaccine, Razi Cov Pars, started the clinical trial by injecting it into two volunteers during a ceremony on February 27.

On February 26, Iran started mass vaccination with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, with the priority given to medical staff, the elderly, and people with underlying diseases. The vaccine is going to be co-produced by the two countries.

Meanwhile, the first batch of COVAX vaccines will be delivered between March 18 and March 28, ISNA quoted Alireza Raeisi, the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control spokesman, said.

On January 27, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that there are four different ways to supply the coronavirus vaccine, including direct purchase from a foreign country, procurement from the World Health Organization’s COVAX facility, a joint production with a Cuban company as well as domestic production of the vaccine.

He emphasized that Iran will soon be one of the world’s important manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccine.

FB/MG