13 highlights
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Scientists say Iran is one of few Middle Eastern nations with the capacity to develop vaccines. It has been doing so in earnest: around ten are under development and one is already bolstering its vaccination drive, but little is known about these vaccines outside Iran.
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So far, 18 million or so doses have been administered: some 12 million were China’s Sinopharm vaccine; 4 million were the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine; and one million were COVIran Barekat, developed by the Iranian state-owned Shifa Pharmed Industrial Group in Tehran. The remainder include doses of Russia’s Sputnik V and India’s Covaxin.
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In early trials, the researchers found that more than 93% of vaccinated people produced neutralizing antibodies. We don’t know how long this protection will last, but I assume that it will be similar to that provided by other inactivated vaccines — such as CoronaVac, produced by the Chinese firm Sinovac Life Sciences — for which antibody levels have been shown to drop after six months, suggesting that boosters are likely to be required.
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Could you tell us about COVIran Barekat?
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What other vaccines are being developed in Iran?
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Pasteurcovac is a recombinant-protein vaccine developed in a collaboration between Cuba’s Finlay Institute of Vaccines in Havana and the Pasteur Institute of Iran. The vaccine is known as Soberana 02 in Cuba. It also received emergency-use approval in Iran in June, despite still being in phase III trials.
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Why are Iranian scientists creating so many vaccines?
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We have a long history of vaccine production in Iran. The Pasteur Institute of Iran was established in 1920, and has produced vaccines against tuberculosis and rabies.
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We can’t rely on help from the international community with the pandemic. We are living under sanctions imposed by the United States; in our opinion, these are unjustified. The United States says that sanctions don’t affect humanitarian activities, but when your ability to transfer money is restricted, it is difficult to buy drugs and medicines.
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Why are Iranian researchers reluctant to publicize their work internationally?
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Researchers in Iran might not want to draw too much attention to their work in case they put potential partnerships in jeopardy before they have achieved a final product, or they run the risk of losing access to raw materials and technologies they need for vaccines.
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What does the future hold for vaccine development in Iran?
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As many people have said, this will not be the last coronavirus pandemic that we face. I expect the vaccine production capacity will be used for years to come to develop new vaccines and drugs, for both coronaviruses and other diseases.