Covid-19 vaccination to start soon in Iran: Rouhani

Tehran, Jan 24 Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that vaccination against the novel coronavirus in the country will start in the next few days.

In a statement on Saturday, Rouhani said that the use of foreign vaccine is necessary before the domestic vaccine is produced, reports Xinhua news agency.

Iranian officials started human trial of a domestic vaccine on December 29, 2020, and have promised for its nationwide application at the beginning of next Iranian calendar year starting on March 20.

The Health Ministry on Saturday reported a total of 1,367,032 coronavirus cases and 57,294 deaths since the outbreak of the disease in the country in February 2020.

Rouhani's announcement came after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said in a televised address earlier this month that the country has banned the import of coronavirus vaccines from the US and the UK, saying the two countries were "not trustworthy".

After Khamenei's address, the Iranian Red Crescent Society confirmed that the import of American Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines has been cancelled.

( With inputs from IANS )