TEHRAN, Iran (Iran) – Iran has finalized an agreement with Russia to buy 60 million doses of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.
The report cites Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali, who says the contract has been “signed and terminated” for enough vaccines to inoculate 30 million people.
Jalali said Iran will receive vaccines by the end of the year.
On Saturday, Iran began a ten-day shutdown amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.
Authorities ordered the closure of most stores and restricted offices to a third of cities declared “red zones” with the highest infection rates.
The capital Tehran and 250 other cities and towns across the country have been declared red zones. They have the highest virus positivity rates and the most severe restrictions. More than 85% of the country now has a state of red or orange infection (slightly lower), according to authorities.
The sharp rise in infections comes after a two-week holiday in Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Millions of travelers arrived on the Caspian coast and other popular holiday spots, filled markets to buy new clothes and toys, and gathered at holiday homes in disagreement with government health guidelines.
The new blockade restricts access to parks, restaurants, bakeries, beauty salons, shopping malls and bookstores.
There seemed to be no respite in view of the spread of the virus as the launch of the vaccine in Iran was delayed. According to the World Health Organization, only about 200,000 doses have been administered in the country, of 84 million.
COVAX, an international partnership to administer the vaccine equitably around the world, on Monday delivered its first shipment to Iran from the Netherlands, which contained 700,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Iran in December began the human testing phase of the homemade vaccine that is expected to be distributed in the spring. The country has also begun work on a joint vaccine with Cuba. It also plans to import about 17 million doses of COVAX vaccine and millions of doses from other countries.
Iran says several factors played a role in increasing the number of cases, but insists the main culprit was the British variant 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.