TEHRAN – Over the next two weeks, 70 percent of the country's population will be vaccinated against coronavirus, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has said.

So far, 53 million people have been inoculated against the pandemic, which will reach up to 60 million over the next two weeks, he added.

Einollahi went on to say that during the past week, 8.2 million doses of vaccine were injected in the country, which is unprecedented and unique in the world, referring to the speed of vaccination.

“We will soon celebrate the victory of vaccination,” but vaccination does not mean that there is no need to follow health protocols, he concluded, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

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, developed jointly by the Pasteur Institute of Iran and Cuba's Finlay Vaccine Institute, is another homegrown vaccine, which has received the emergency use license, after COVIRAN.

FB/MG