TEHRAN – Iran will start mass production of homegrown ‘Fakhra’ vaccine for COVID-19 by the end of the third Iranian calendar month of Khordad (May 21).

Fakhra vaccine, named after martyred nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was unveiled and started the clinical trial on March 16.

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

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

The vaccine has been injected into 15 volunteers, IRNA quoted Ahmad Karimi, manager of Fakhra vaccine production project, as saying.

In the first phase, 135 volunteers will get the vaccine, he said, adding that the second phase will start 35 days later.

The process of research and development of the 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 January 27, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said Iran will soon be one of the world’s important manufacturers of the COVID-19 vaccine.

MG

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