Saeed Namaki added that the world has been fighting COVID-19 for more than 15 months, which during this period, about 135 million people got infected, of which about three million died.

“COVID-19 pandemic swept the world severely, providing many lessons learned nationally, regionally, and globally, which demonstrated the unpreparedness of the global community to deal with a pandemic,” highlighted the minister.

“Leadership, solidarity, inter-sectoral collaboration, evidence-based interventions, and coordination between countries are the tools needed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic,” Namaki underlined.

“Unfair distribution of COVID vaccines showed the ugly part of our unfair world, where almost 80 percent of injected vaccines are in 10 developed countries while 18 low and middle-income countries are still with zero vaccines, so we must overcome this unfairness with transparency, cooperation, and solidarity,” pointed the minister.

COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge with a global solution, so national solutions can only help temporarily, he stressed.

“Injustice in this pandemic should be stopped through strengthening the leadership of World Health Organization (WHO), more investment in rapid response teams, data sharing, transparency, and accuracy of data in an agreed format to overcome legal barriers to defeat the pandemics,” Namaki concluded.

A high-level meeting of the Ascension Forum entitled “Strengthening Cooperation between European and the Persian Gulf Countries to combat the coronavirus” with Australia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iran, Italy, Turkey, Palestine, South Africa, the World Health Organization, Yemen and Syria’s health officials’ attendance via videoconferencing was held at the Health Ministry on 19th Apr 2021.

Holding such a meeting was to discuss the latest achievements, experiences, challenges, financial problems, the economic impact of the COVID-19 and the vaccination process, and the obstacles the world faces.

Objecting to COVAX for its unfair COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Iran’s Health Minister stated that 1 million Iranians would be vaccinated next week.

Explaining the vaccination program, Namaki, said that one million doses of coronavirus vaccine would begin on Monday across the country to medical staff, medical students, hospital crew, and those who are in contact with infected patients.

Highlighting that the international organizations should be responsible for the unfair vaccine distribution around the world, the Health Minister added that despite being oppressed by sanctions, Iran has been able to manage its needs such as anti-coronavirus materials, medical equipment, and vaccine development.

Namaki stated that Iran had taken effectively promising steps to develop a coronavirus vaccine since the first day it (vaccine) was discussed in the world and was aware that the COVID-19 vaccine is not only a health and preventive product but a political means.

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COVIRAN BAREKAT, the first coronavirus vaccine made by researchers at the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam which was unveiled on December 29, 2020, started to be mass-produced on March 29.

At least two European countries and three countries in the region are now seeking to negotiate on purchasing vaccine, but we will export once the domestic needs are met, he noted, adding, the production capacity of COVID-19 vaccine in the world is about 2 billion doses per year, while the need for a vaccine is about 14-16 billion doses.

“We have achieved great success in developing vaccine; as clinical trials were conducted successfully, and the third phase of the human trial will start by the next two or three weeks, but what is more important is mass production of vaccines,” Mokhber noted.

Mokhber went on to say that the production line of three million doses of vaccine per month has been fully completed and we have gained valuable achievements in the field of research and development.

In the beginning, our scientists could get 100 doses of vaccine per liter of the virus, which increased up to 1,000 doses by now, he highlighted.

“In the first phase, we can produce 3 million doses of vaccine per month and we are determined to submit the first shipment of BAREKAT vaccine with a capacity of one million doses to the Ministry of Health and the Iranian people in May,” he said.

The second line of vaccine production with a capacity of 12 to 15 million doses will also be operational in two months, its construction stages have been completed and it is planned to be launched in mid-July, he added.

At the end of June, the vaccine production capacity will reach 18-20 million doses per month, which can definitely increase in case of any changes in condition, he also stated.

The second Iranian coronavirus vaccine, Razi Cov Pars, which started the clinical trial on February 27, will be mass-produced in early August.

Fakhra vaccine, the third homegrown vaccine, was unveiled and started the clinical trial on March 16.

Meanwhile the spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Kianoush Jahanpour said that five countries including two European countries ask for Iranian Corona vaccine so far.

Jahanpour wrote in a tweet that uranium enrichment will begin up to 60% and so far five countries including two European ones asked for the Iranian vaccine. Along with the increase in production efficiency, it would be close to achieving producing 20 million doses of vaccine per month.

Health Minister Saeed Namaki has promised that by the end of this spring, the domestically produced vaccine will be accomplished and placed on the service table and injected into the Iranian citizens.

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In comments on Monday, Namaki expounded on the topics discussed in a recent online meeting he held with his counterparts from the WHO member states, saying he called on the WHO to intervene to lift the cruel sanctions against Iran and other nations that have hindered the acquisition of medicine and vaccine amid the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Namaki also noted that he highlighted Iran’s fair medical services in the videoconference, saying the Islamic Republic has provided free treatment for all people after the COVID-19 outbreak, even for foreign refugees.

The minister further noted that Iran has voiced support for the WHO as an organization that is connecting nations in the war on the coronavirus.

“We condemned the American move to weaken the World Health Organization, which happened for the first time,” he added.

US President Donald Trump has suspended the WHO funding over what he called the UN body’s “mismanagement” of the new coronavirus pandemic, in a move that has drawn widespread international condemnation.

The US president has repeatedly accused the WHO of siding with China and reliance on Chinese data, blaming it for “all sorts of false information about transmission and mortality” that was circulated amid initial reports.

The US contributed $400 million to the WHO last year, roughly 15% of its budget.

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Saeed Namaki on Friday sent a letter to Basij (mobilization) Force Commander Brigadier General Gholam Reza Soleimani, commending the paramilitary forces for their active participation in the first stage of the national scheme in which more than 70 million Iranians were screened for coronavirus infection.

The minister noted that the Basij forces’ dedication to the countrywide scheme to defeat COVID-19 will go down in history, saying the Health Ministry and Basij will be working together in the second stage of the coronavirus battle national mobilization plan.

During the second stage, Namaki said, the cases detected in the previous phase will be monitored, the people who were in contact with the infected cases but have no symptoms will be tested, and the smart social distancing program will be supervised.

Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unveiled a plan for smart social distancing across the country as a new phase of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In Iran, nearly 35,500 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease so far.

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