The national average of the second dose of COVID-19 vaccination for the people aged 12 years and above was 65 percent in Iran; the national average of the first dose of vaccination for 12 to 18 year-olds was 83 percent, he said.

He went on to note that the national average of the second jab for children aged 12-18 years was 54 percent, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

Mobile vaccination clinics should be more active in high-risk areas for high-risk age groups, Gooya stated, adding, However, vaccination of the non-Iranian population is about 30 percent, which is still far from expectations.

The number of COVID-19 vaccines injected in the country has exceeded 100 million doses, despite all barriers and difficulties caused by sanctions.

According to the latest statistics, so far, 56,944,774 people have received the first dose, 45,382,073 people the second dose, while 833,605 people are inoculated with the third dose, so that, the total number of jabs in the country surpassed 103,160,452 doses.

In the way to the vaccination of the whole population, many obstacles have shown up caused by U.S. sanctions, financial transactions, countries’ reluctance to provide Iran with the vaccine, or even competition among the nations to vaccine their own population sooner.

However, Iran could make it and inoculate over 50 percent of the population, being among the first sixty countries with the highest number of vaccinated people.

Iran is one of the countries affected by the pandemic that has been able to widely implement vaccination programs in recent months and vaccinate refugees living in the country at the same time as Iranian nationals.

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“Some 57,675 foreign nationals from 133 countries are studying in Iranian universities, many of whom have returned to their country with the outbreak of the pandemic,” Afshin Akhoundzadeh, an official at the Organization of Student Affairs has said.

During the pandemic, the admission of foreign students increased by 20 percent, most of whom were admitted from neighboring countries, especially Iraq, and most of whom are paying tuition, he noted.

However, 4,000 non-Iranian students have been applied with a scholarship, he further added.

With the online university education system, more than 15,000 international students returned to their country and communicate with their professors in Iran through virtual education.

Some 30,600 of the whole students are studying in universities affiliated with the Ministry of Science, while 25,000 others are receiving education in Azad University, and about 2,000 in medical universities.

Fifty-seven percent of the international students are studying for a master’s degree, 27 percent for a bachelor’s degree and 15 percent are educating to receive a Ph.D., while the remaining one percent study at other levels.

Law, Persian literature, and computer engineering are the top three fields of study for foreign students in Iran, while civil engineering, business management, political science, English language and literature, Quran and hadith sciences, international relations, and electrical engineering, and other majors with the highest number of non-Iranian students.

In 2013, 35 centers were allowed to admit foreign students, which has increased to 77 in 2021.

Earlier in May, Indrika Ratwatte, Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), appreciated Iran for vaccinating foreign nationals Iran.

In light of the pandemic, all refugees, even those undocumented, benefited from access to free primary health services and free COVID-19 related testing, treatment, and hospitalization, just like Iranian nationals.

The same happened for the vaccination when the country has generously considered foreign national and refugees over the age of 75 for vaccination against coronavirus.

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The meeting took place a few weeks before he is officially sworn in as president.

The meeting was attended by Health Minister Saeed Namaki, Head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society Karim Hemmati, Chairman of the Headquarters for Executing the Order of Imam Khomeini Mohammad Mokhber, a number of lawmakers, the CEOs of producers of vaccine, managers of the institutions and companies working on the distribution of vaccine, and the vaccination program experts, Tasnim reported.

Campaign against controlling the deadly virus should continue unstoppably, he said, adding his future government will prioritize allocating the necessary fund for vaccinating the citizens.

“Undoubtedly, what has been done so far in areas of vaccination has been necessary but definitely not enough,” he added.

Asking what has been done so far is a complete use of the country’s potential, he said, “I personally believe no.”

He added there is a great potential in “producing and importing” vaccines.

The president-elect said the main focus is on production of vaccine at home but import of vaccines should also be done speedily.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said it is a “source of honor” that Iranian experts are producing vaccines that are comparable with foreign ones.

In comments on Saturday, outgoing President Hassan Rouhani called for strict compliance with health protocols as the country is facing a rise in the number of people diagnosed with the virus, saying the virus has afflicted almost all parts of the country.

Rouhani promised that his administration will make another 10 million doses of COVID vaccine available within the next two weeks and will complete the vaccination of people above the age of 65 and those with underlying diseases before the end of his tenure.

The death toll from the coronavirus in Iran has surpassed 86,960 since its outbreak in February 2020. So far, some 5.89 million people have received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine in the country.

Speaking at the meeting of the Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters, Rouhani said the number of patients infected with the new Delta variant of the coronavirus has soared in many provinces.

“Today, we are again facing a rising trend in the pandemic in almost all of the country,” the president added, blaming the spread of the disease on unnecessary travels and laxity in observing health protocols, among other reasons.

Voicing concern about the latest reports that the level of public compliance with the health protocols has fallen to 48 percent, Rouhani said all efforts should be focused on convincing people to take the pandemic seriously and obey the health rules.

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