TEHRAN -- President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday touched on his administration’s “success” in addressing problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic, saying every effort is being made to supply vaccines.
In comments at a meeting of the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters, President Rouhani expounded on measures taken tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran since its outbreak in February 2020.
He said Iran has gained self-sufficiency in manufacturing the necessary medical equipment to cope with the pandemic and is facing no shortage in this regard.
Iran, he said, began to purchase the coronavirus vaccine only after making sure about its safety.
“We have been making every effort to speed up the vaccination process according to the Vaccination National Document either via imports or the supply of homegrown ones,” Rouhani added.
The fact that Iran is ranked 51st in the world in terms of the coronavirus death toll despite facing severe sanctions reveals that it has done a great and commendable job in the fight against the pandemic, the president said.
Iran has already granted emergency use authorization to Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, Covaxin made by India’s Bharat Biotech, Oxford/AstraZeneca developed by Russia’s R-Pharm Group, and the AstraZeneca-SKBio made in South Korea.
More than 4.29 million people have received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine in Iran, with the death toll and new cases declining in recent weeks.