TEHRAN – Pastu Covac, developed jointly by the Pasteur Institute of Iran and Cuba's Finlay Vaccine Institute, is the only homegrown vaccine that includes use in children aged under 18.

Pastu Covac is one of the safest vaccines available for injection in children aging 2-18, Alireza Biglari, head of the Pasteur Institute said.

He went on to say that the Ministry of Health will announce the plan to inject the vaccine into children within the next two weeks.

The study of Pastu Covac (called Soberana 02 in Cuba) was performed in Cuba on children and the emergency use license has been obtained, he added.

The results of the study showed that this vaccine should be injected in adults with a booster dose, but in children, a third dose is not needed and 2 doses are enough to achieve immunization, he highlighted.

Pastu Covac vaccine is a conjugate vaccine with two injectable doses. It consists of the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein conjugated chemically to tetanus toxoid.

The two first phases of the human trial have been conducted in Cuba, while the third phase was carried out on 24,000 volunteers in Iran and 44,000 volunteers in Cuba.

It is the only vaccine in the world that can fight several mutations simultaneously, Biglari said in July.

Homegrown vaccines

Made by researchers at the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, COVIRAN BAREKAT was unveiled on December 29, 2020, and received the license for public use on June 14.

It proved effective against Indian strain, according to Hojjat Niki-Maleki, head of the information center of Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam.

Eleven countries from Asia and South America, and a European country have asked for importing COVIRAN vaccine, Hassan Jalili, the vaccine’s production manager, said in June.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, 14 vaccines are being domestically developed in the country which are in different study phases.

Pastu Covac is another homegrown vaccine, which has received the emergency use license, after COVIRAN.

FB/MG