Start of Sputnik V vaccination campaign brings hope to Iran

Tehran, Feb 9 (efe-epa).- Iran on Tuesday started the immunization program against Covid-19 using the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine in what was a major step toward containing a pandemic that has hit the country hard with more than 1.4 million cases and 58,000 deaths reported so far.

This long-awaited step took place before a large group of doctors and journalists at the Imam Khomeini public hospital in Tehran, which has treated the largest number of Covid-19 patients in the country since the first cases were detected a year ago.

“Today we begin vaccination in 635 public and private hospitals, which were key centers in the management of the coronavirus,” said Health Minister Said Namaki. During his speech, Namaki said that the first group of people to get the shots will be intensive care unit personnel involved in the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

He also highlighted the safety of Sputnik V, which has a high efficacy rate, and guaranteed that they will only import vaccines from “very reliable sources” to the country. EFE-EPA

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