Hooman Abedi
Press TV, Kahrizak
Iran has officially launched the second phase of the coronavirus vaccination campaign administering jabs to the elderly and those with acute diseases.
At this phase, which is the second, the elderly and those with underlying diseases and the disabled will get the vaccine.
The country’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki attended the retirement home in Kahrizak to launch the campaign.
He told reporters that those people will be vaccinated free of charge.
Press TV asked the minister when the normal people will take the vaccine and he answered that hopefully by September most of the Iranians will be vaccinated.
We also interviewed the head of Iran’s welfare organization who told us that in the first stage, some 20,000 doses will be allocated to nursery centers across the country.
The Islamic Republic kicked off the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination with administering the jab on medical staff working at some 600 hospitals across the country. Iranian health officials say indigenously produced shots will be used in the later stages of the campaign. Over 110,000 people have been vaccinated up to now. Iran has so far logged more than 1.6 million COVID-19 cases with over 59,800 deaths.
Iran began its COVID-19 vaccination program on February 9. The top priority groups of people for vaccination are doctors and nurses working at intensive care units. The next groups are these elderly or the ones with underlying diseases.