TEHRAN – Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has announced that from now on no coronavirus vaccines will be imported to the country, emphasizing that the priority is given to domestic products.

According to studies, domestically-produced vaccines are unique in terms of effectiveness and quality, Einollahi noted, IRNA reported.

“We are proud of the domestic vaccine and as the research and production stages went well,” he added.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, 14 vaccines are being domestically developed in Iran. Referring to the capabilities of the scientists of the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture, he said that “We are proud of the scientists of Razi institute; it has a long history in vaccine production.

“The achievement of the researchers of this institute to develop a vaccine against coronavirus is one of the most important and latest achievements of the Institute, which has shown good and satisfactory results so far.

According to scientific studies, the vaccine provides over 90 percent immunity against the virus, and so far, more than 60,000 people in the country have received the jab through clinical studies,” he explained.

Developed by the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, 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.

Homegrown vaccines

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

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.

Fakhra vaccine, the third domestically-developed COVID-19 vaccine, was unveiled and started the clinical trial on March 16.

Lately, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use license for two other domestic vaccines of Razi Cov Pars and Fakhra.

The Iranian-Australian Spikogen vaccine and Pastu Covac, developed jointly by the Pasteur Institute of Iran and Cuba's Finlay Vaccine Institute, are other homegrown vaccines, which have received the emergency use license.

Iran is one of the few countries that has all vaccine production platforms, Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, former head of the Iranian Food and Drug Administration, said in June.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iran Jaffar Hussain said in September that the Organization was collecting the necessary information for the registration and certification of Iranian-made coronavirus vaccines.

FB/MG