Kianoush Jahanpour, spokesman for Food and Drug Administration of Iran, made the remarks at a video-conference ceremony held simultaneously in 625 hospitals across the country to begin vaccination against COVID-19 with a Russian-developed vaccine – Sputnik V.
Jahanpour expressed hope that Iran would be among the top countries that completes public vaccination.
He cited press reports that vaccination in most of the world countries will take three to seven years.
Medical personnel are the first group who will have Sputnik V injection, he said adding that some 1,000 people will be vaccinated a day and the figure will rise to 5,000 people a day in next several days, then the daily vaccination will rise to 10,000 and 20,000 people a day in the next stages of vaccination in the current Iranian year.
It is expected a batch of Sputnik V to be delivered to the country every 10 days, Jahanpour added.
He added that Iran and a Russian company may cooperate to launch the manufacturing line of Sputnik V vaccines in Iran.
Elaborating on priority given to the people to receive vaccination, he said that after the health sector, the priority is that Iranian war veterans, individuals at nursery houses taking care of the elderly population and those suffering from refractory diseases are on the priority agenda.
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