Iran President "COVID-19 Vaccination to Start Within March"

▲Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that COVID-19 vaccinations will begin within March.

According to Tasnim News Agency on the 16th (local time), President Rouhani stated at the COVID-19 National Task Force meeting, "We will start vaccinations within this year."

The "this year" mentioned by President Rouhani refers to the Persian calendar year used in Iran, with the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, falling on March 21.

President Rouhani said that not only foreign vaccines but also an Iranian-made vaccine called "Pasteur" will be used, though he did not provide further details.

Previously, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei stated, "We do not trust the United States and the United Kingdom," and banned the import of COVID-19 vaccines from the US and UK.

Initially, the Iranian government planned to purchase COVID-19 vaccines from the United States, but after the Supreme Leader's ban on US and UK vaccine imports, the purchase of 150,000 doses (single-dose vaccinations) of US-made vaccines was canceled.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.