TEHRAN – Studies show that Cov Pars vaccine, developed by the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute of Iran, makes immunity for 9-12 months against the coronavirus, Reza Bani-Hashemi, the director for research and development at the institute, said on Sunday.

Razi Cov Pars is among the vaccines which activate the body’s cellular immune system, causing long-term immunity, IRNA quoted Bani-Hashemi as saying.

The inhaled dose of COV Pars vaccine reduces the transmission of delta and alpha coronavirus variants by up to 90 percent, Ali Es’haqi, head of Razi Vaccine and Serum Institute, said in October.

Razi Cov Pars is the second Iranian-made vaccine that started the clinical trial on February 27.

The vaccine is protein-based, which employs recombinant versions of the spike protein and tutors the immune system against the virus by producing antibodies.

It is developed in 3 doses. The first two doses are injectable and the third dose is intranasal. The second dose of the vaccine will be injected into the volunteers 21 days later and the third dose will be inhaled 51 days later.

The results of the research show that people who received COV Pars did not have any side effects, he stated, adding, even after the shot, none of those who were infected with the virus were hospitalized.

In the second phase of the study, we examined the immunogenicity very closely, and the evidence suggests that the COV Pars vaccine can not only induce antibodies but can also activate cellular immunity, he noted.

In the first to third phases of the trial, 14,000 people received the shot that was completely resistant to the Wuhan variant, but with the advent of the delta strain, the effectiveness of the vaccine was slightly reduced and 20 percent of those who received the vaccine had mild symptoms of the disease, which disappeared within one to two days.

Fortunately, we did not have any cases of death or hospitalization among these people, and this is a sign of the effectiveness on the delta strain, he added.

According to Es’haqi, the third dose of COV Pars complements other vaccines. Pregnant women and people under the age of 18 can also receive the vaccine.

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

MG