Iran unveils second homegrown virus vaccine project

Iran unveils its second homegrown coronavirus vaccine project, the day before the launch of a vaccination campaign to combat the Middle East’s deadliest COVID-19 outbreak.

“We will start human tests in the coming days, or in a week at the latest,” Massoud Soleimani, a member of Iran’s national vaccine committee, tells journalists in Karaj near Tehran.

The vaccine, dubbed Razi Cov Pars, was developed at the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, which is linked to the agriculture ministry, Soleimani says.

At the start of Phase 1 of the clinical trials, “13 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55” will receive a shot, he adds.

The unveiling comes the day before the launch Tuesday of a campaign to vaccinate Iran’s 80-million-plus population, starting with the Sputnik V jab, according to Health Minister Saeed Namaki.

The first doses of the Russian vaccine arrived on Thursday in Tehran, with two other shipments expected by February 18 and 28, according to Iranian authorities.