Iran Starts Human Trials for Third COVID-19 Vaccine

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is the namesake for the Iranian Fakhravac vaccine, which has entered into human trials (Wikipedia)

Iran started human trials for its third domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine on March 16. The vaccine, called Fakhravac, gets its name from top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in late November and led the team developing the vaccine. 

Networks broadcast the ceremony for the Fakhravac vaccine live on state television. There, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki touted the development, stating, “I must say today with pride that in the next spring, the Islamic Republic of Iran will become one of the most important and best vaccine producers in the world.” 

Iran, which has faced the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East with more than 60,000 dead, has struggled to procure a sufficient supply of vaccines.

While American sanctions against Iran technically allow the country to produce and purchase vaccine doses, financial restrictions severely limit Iran’s ability to do so. Sanctions create what Bourse & Bazaar founder Esfandyar Batmanghelidj called a “culture of over-compliance and a culture of fear” that prevents foreign banks from doing business with Iran. 

Tara Sepehri Far, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, summed up the situation when she said, “The truth is that sanctions do make it difficult to process transactions, even if there are humanitarian exceptions.”

Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has banned the importation of U.S. and British vaccines, worsening the situation and reflecting a deep mistrust between Iran and the West. 

Despite these challenges, Iran secured vaccines from Russia, China, India, Cuba, and from COVAX, the World Health Organization’s vaccine initiative designed to provide vaccines to countries who would otherwise not be able to afford them. Most of these countries have shown interest in developing vaccines independently from the West. Indeed, the name of the Cuban vaccine that was shared with Iran, Soberana, is Spanish for “sovereignty.”  

Nevertheless, Iran is determined to control its own fate with regard to vaccine production. “Our hope does not lie in these imports,” said Health Minister Namaki, “it lies in this national production.”