Iran to start COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday: Health Minister

Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki announced on Sunday that vaccination against COVID-19 will start on Tuesday, official news agency IRNA reported.

Iran Minister of Health and Medical Education Saeed Namaki announced on Sunday that vaccination against COVID-19 will start on Tuesday, official news agency IRNA reported.

Inoculation will start for the population groups most at risk, doctors and nurses working in contact with COVID-19 patients at intensive care units, Namaki said.

The official made the announcement at the launch event for the clinical trial of a vaccine developed by Iran's Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute.

On Sunday afternoon, the ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced 7,065 new COVDI-19 cases confirmed in the past 24 hours, raising the country's overall count to 1,466,435, according to the ministry's website.

Of the newly infected, 544 had to be hospitalized, she said.

Between Saturday and Sunday, 57 new deaths related to the coronavirus were registered, the lowest daily figure since May 2020, raising the death toll to 58,469.

Lari noted that 1,253,554 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered or been released from hospitals, with 3,789 still in intensive care units.

She said 9,667,260 tests for the virus have been so far carried out in Iran.

As of Sunday, 36 Iran counties are on orange alert for a medium risk of infection, while 412 others are on yellow or blue alert for a low risk.

Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on February 19, 2020. (/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )