TEHRAN -- The spokesman for Iran’s COVID-19 taskforce said Saturday the country is ready to send medical personnel and vaccines to China if needed.
Abbas Shirozhan said in a series of tweets that the Islamic Republic ranks 12 in the world in research related to the coronavirus.
COVID cases have surged in China in recent weeks, with new strict quarantines enforced by the government.
Shirozhan said Iranian producers of vaccines are allowed to export their home-grown vaccines to other countries. Iran has approved at least six homegrown vaccines for production.
On Saturday, Iran’s health ministry reported 23 deaths from the coronavirus during the past 24 hours, which took the overall toll to 140,800.
The ministry said 1,015 new cases of COVID-19 infection had been detected during the time, 195 of whom were hospitalized.
More than 64.17 million Iranians have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while 57.32 million have been administered the second dosage. More than 26.71 million have got the booster shots.