Iran Returns 820,000 Doses of Donated U.S.-Made COVID-19 Vaccines

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Iran returned 820,000 doses of US-made COVID-19 vaccines that were donated.

On the 22nd (local time), according to Iran's state-run IRIB broadcast, the Iranian Ministry of Health recently confirmed that 820,000 doses out of 1 million AstraZeneca (AZ) doses donated from Poland were manufactured in the United States and returned them.

A Ministry of Health official said, "After consultation with the Polish embassy in Iran, it was decided to send back the US-made vaccines."

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, banned the use of COVID-19 vaccines manufactured in the United States and the United Kingdom last year, stating that these countries cannot be trusted.

The vaccines approved for use by the Iran Food and Drug Administration include Russia's Sputnik V, China's Sinopharm, Covaxin developed by Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech, and AstraZeneca manufactured in South Korea and Japan. Among these, China's Sinopharm is the most widely used.

With a population of about 84 million, Iran's rate of receiving two or more vaccine doses is approximately 70%. As of this date, the number of new confirmed cases is 22,073, and deaths are 223.

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