Iranians Not to Be Used for Foreign Vaccine Trial: President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – President of Iran Hassan Rouhani said his administration will not allow foreign vaccines for the coronavirus to be tested on Iranian people, adding that efforts are underway to develop a homegrown vaccine and purchase the reliable ones.
Speaking at a Saturday session of the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters, Rouhani said people of Iran will never become a target for the trial of foreign vaccines for COVID-19.
The Iranian Health Ministry has refused offers for the trial of foreign vaccine, the president added, calling on people not to be deceived about the foreign vaccine.
He further gave an assurance that the administration has been doing its utmost to produce the coronavirus vaccine inside the country and purchase the reliable vaccines from abroad.
Rapid access to the vaccine is one of the main public demands, the president noted, saying plans have been formulated for the vaccination of 60 million Iranians in four phases by defining the priority groups.
Rouhani also called for strict compliance with the health protocols, expressing delight at an 80% decline in the coronavirus hospital admissions and a 70% decrease in the number of deaths in Iran.
His comments came one day after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei praised the Iranian vaccine for the coronavirus as a source of pride, stating, “It is a source of dignity and pride for the country. Of course, they are working on the Corona vaccine in different ways. But in one case, they are testing a vaccine on human beings and it has proven to be successful.”
The Leader also said, “Importing American or English vaccines to the country is prohibited. I have said this to the officials, and I am now announcing this publicly. If the Americans had been able to produce a vaccine, this Corona disaster would not have occurred in their own country. A few days ago, there were 4,000 deaths in their country in one day. If they know how to make a vaccine, and if their Pfizer factory knows how to produce one, they can use it for themselves so that there won’t be so many deaths there. The same is true of England. They are not trustworthy or reliable. I don’t know, perhaps they wish to test a vaccine on other nations to see if it works or not. And of course, I do not trust the French either. The reason is their history in giving us contaminated blood (France’s HIV-tainted blood supplies).”
