Tehran tests first 'made in Iran' anti-Covid vaccine

The Islamic Republic has started the first phase of trials on 56 volunteers. The official ceremony in a hotel in the capital, in the presence of the authorities. Participants will be injected with two doses over two weeks; there are currently no serious allergic reactions. A second vaccine is being studied in collaboration with a "foreign country".

Tehran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Iran has started the first phase of human testing of its own vaccine against the new coronavirus. The study began yesterday with the administration of the first doses (in the photo) to the 56 volunteers, during an official ceremony that was held in a hotel in the capital in the presence of numerous political and institutional authorities. Each participant received two vials of the serum.

In total about 20 thousand volunteers registered for the trial. The vaccine is manufactured by Shifa Pharmed, a state-owned pharmaceutical company belonging to the industry conglomerate known as Barekat. According to reports from the director of the trial, Hamed Hosseini, participants will be inoculated two doses in two weeks.

The results will be announced two months after the second inoculation. The trial started yesterday and, in the last 24 hours, the volunteers have not developed "anaphylactic " or "severe allergic reactions " or "major fevers". " I am happy that the scientific process went ahead in a proper way,” said Tayebeh Mokhber, daughter of the Setad Foundation chairman, who was the first to get jabbed. “I hope the conclusion will be health for our people.”

The treatment, called Coviran, is a so-called inactivated vaccine consisting of a coronavirus that has been weakened or killed by chemicals, similar to how polio vaccinations are done. The Iranian authorities expect the product to reach the market by late spring 2021, with very aggressive times, but justified by the global pandemic, as happened for other vaccines already in use.

Iran remains the most affected country in the area and, in recent weeks, the official figures for deaths and infections have reached a new record (over 1.2 million cases and more than 55 thousand victims). President Hassan Rouhani added that the Islamic Republic is cooperating with a "foreign country" for the production of a second vaccine; human tests should start by next February.

In the past, Tehran has repeatedly attacked the sanctions imposed by the United States (and Europe), which allegedly hindered the purchase of vaccines from abroad.

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