In Iran, vaccination against Covid-19 is long overdue
Iran's Covid-19 vaccine has just started its second phase of testing.
Here, a nurse administers it in Tehran, March 15, 2021. AFP - ATTA KENARE
Text by: Murielle Paradon Follow
5 mins
Covid-19 has already claimed more than 61,000 lives and affected more than 1.7 million people in Iran, out of a total population of 83 million, according to John Hopkins University.
Vaccination barely started when the Iranian regime, isolated on the international scene, decided to develop its own vaccine.
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From our special correspondent in Tehran,
A black-veiled female doctor wearing a surgical mask climbs onto a platform and sits in an armchair, with a portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini in the background.
She receives an injection of an
Iranian anti-Covid-19 vaccine
and then applause, crackling from the cameras.
For the launch of the new phase of clinical trials of their vaccine on Monday March 15, the Iranian authorities took care of the staging: all the press was invited to a hotel in Tehran.
Called Coviran Barekat, the Iranian vaccine was tested in a first phase on 56 people.
A success, according to the foundation which finances it and which depends on Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei.
Phases 2 and 3 will therefore be able to begin, at the same time, to go faster, according to its promoters.
"
This vaccine meets international standards
, assures infectious disease specialist Minoo Mohraz, a figure in the fight against Covid-19 in Iran,
and it will adapt well to mutations in the virus
".
The scientist is also very optimistic about a rapid and massive production of Coviran Barekat: “
We hope within 3 months to produce 2 to 3 million doses per month.
"
Doubts about Iran's ability to mass produce its vaccine
But some express strong doubts.
Diet critic Dr Madhiar Saeedian says Coviran Barekat is unlikely to come out so quickly.
"
Most of the vaccines against Covid-19 developed by renowned laboratories around the world have not finished experimenting with phase 3. (...) As for mass production, this seems difficult, given the American sanctions
"
which weigh on Iran.
In the meantime, Tehran has ordered
vaccines from "
friendly countries
"
:
Russia
, China and even India.
But the most total vagueness remains on the quantities of doses received, as well as on the number of Iranians who have started to be vaccinated
since the start of the campaign launched on February 9
.
"
They are very few
", concedes epidemiologist Minoo Mohraz, without giving more details.
Healthcare staff, on the front line in the pandemic, are of course a priority for vaccination.
"
He is in a very difficult situation
", deplores Dr Saeedian, who points to a lack of protective equipment.
The refusal to import the American vaccine Pfizer / BioNTech
Another subject of controversy: the
refusal of the Iranian authorities to use the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine
.
On January 8, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei announced the ban on importing the vaccine manufactured in the United States, a country which is hostile to Iran.
The launch of the Coviran Barekat is also promoted as a form of resistance to
Washington's “
imperialism
”, accused of having isolated Tehran on the international scene and of having imposed heavy sanctions on it, linked to its nuclear program.
But this controversy has the gift of annoying the population who are impatient to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Seated on a terrace of a café in an affluent neighborhood of Tehran, a group of students deprived of lessons because of the coronavirus, are discussing over a coffee.
“
Iran doesn't want to buy Pfizer vaccines because it comes from the United States.
I find that stupid
, laments Hani, 20, a pretty blonde who has dropped the veil.
It is about our lives, not that our countries are enemies
”.
His neighbor at the table adds: “
I don't want to be injected with an Indian vaccine or Russian which is not certified.
(…)
I would have more confidence in Pfizer
.
"
A "
terrifying
"
future
Some prefer to have fun with the craziest rumors circulating about the American vaccine.
“
A mullah said that if we injected this vaccine in Iran, we would become homosexual
!
It became a joke on Tik Tok,
”jokes a student.
But behind the laughter, a feeling of anger mixed with fatalism dominates among these young people.
Dr Saeedian said he was terrified by the future of the pandemic in Iran, with the current management of the government.
He recommends confinement for the holidays of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year which starts on Saturday, March 20.
Otherwise, he says,
"
the new year may begin with the loss of new loved ones
."
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