TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran has reached an agreement with Russia for the purchase of 60 million doses of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, IRNA news agency reported on Thursday.
The report quotes Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, as saying that the contract has been “signed and finalized” for enough vaccinations to inoculate 30 million people.
Jalali said Iran would receive the vaccines by the end of the year.
On Saturday, Iran began a 10-day blockade amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.
Authorities have ordered the closure of most shops and offices limited to a third of the cities declared “red zones” with the highest infection rates.
The capital Tehran and 250 other cities across the country have been declared red zones. They have the highest rates of virus positivity and the most severe restrictions. More than 85% of the country now has a slightly lower red or orange infection status, authorities said.
The severe rise in infections follows a two-week public holiday for Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Millions have traveled to the Caspian coast and other popular holiday destinations, packed markets to buy new clothes and toys, and gathered in party houses in defiance of government health guidelines.
The new blockade restricts access to parks, restaurants, bakeries, beauty salons, malls and bookstores.
There appeared to be no respite from the spread of the virus, as long as the launch of the vaccine in Iran remained. Only about 200,000 doses have been administered in the country of 84 million, according to the World Health Organization.
COVAX, an international partnership for the equitable delivery of the vaccine worldwide, delivered its first shipment to Iran from the Netherlands on Monday, containing 700,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Iran began in December the human testing phase of the homemade vaccine, which is expected to be distributed in the spring. The country has also begun work on a common vaccine with Cuba. It also intends to import approximately 17 million doses of COVAX vaccine and millions of doses from other countries.
Iran says several factors have played a role in increasing the number of cases, but insists the main culprit was the British version of the virus that entered Iran from Iraq.
Earlier this year, the country began its coronavirus inoculation campaign, administering a limited number of doses of Russian Sputnik V vaccine to medical workers.