Iran to Buy 1Mln Vaccine Doses From China, Another Part to Come From Pfizer, Red Crescent Says

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran will purchase 1 million coronavirus vaccine doses from China, and US pharma giant Pfizer will provide further 150,000-200,000 doses, according to Iranian Red Crescent Society chief Karim Hemmati.

The Red Crescent chief noted that there were obstacles to sanctions-hit Iran's vaccine procurement.

"The Red Crescent Society will purchase 1 million vaccine doses from China, and the rest, this is about 20 million doses, will be provided by the Health Ministry", Hemmati said, as quoted by the ILNA news agency.

According to him, another 150,000-200,000 doses will be supplied by Pfizer.

In this Tuesday, June 16, 2020, photo, a nurse prepares medicines for COVID-19 patients at the Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital in Tehran, Iran. After months of fighting the coronavirus, Iran only just saw its highest single-day spike in reported cases after Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of Ramadan.

© AP Photo / Vahid Salemi

In November, Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that Iran was planning to purchase at least 41 million coronavirus vaccine doses for about 20 million people. The Islamic republic intends to get vaccines via the international COVAX Facility, joint production with other countries and direct procurement from foreign manufacturers.

In addition, Iran is working on the development of domestic vaccines. The health ministry told Sputnik that it expects the first one to be ready by the spring, and another two-three by the summer.

The Iranian Heath Ministry earlier also expressed its interest in Russian COVID-19 vaccines.