President Lauds Leader for Getting Iranian Vaccine, Encouraging Local Scientists

In comments at a Saturday meeting of the Coronavirus Fight National Headquarters, President Hassan Rouhani said Ayatollah Khamenei’s decision to get injected with a domestically-made vaccine for the coronavirus was a very valuable move.

“While the Leader could have used the foreign vaccine much earlier, he preferred to get the homegrown vaccine, and it was an extraordinarily effective encouragement for the activities of our country’s scientists,” Rouhani added, noting that such spiritual support is not comparable with materialist issues.

He also appreciated Ayatollah Khamenei’s constant support for science and technology, saying the atmosphere of science, knowledge, technology and invention now prevails in Iran.

“The homegrown vaccine is a great glory for the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the president said, adding that Iranians must be proud of the great job that the local scientists and knowledge-based companies have done in developing the COVID vaccines inside the country.

Pointing to the permission for the rollout of two Iranian vaccines- Barekat and Pasteur-, the president said more homegrown products will be available within the coming weeks and months.

With a good variety of coronavirus vaccines in Iran, the country can fulfill its domestic needs and even export the COVID vaccine, Rouhani stated.

On Friday, Ayatollah Khamenei received the first dose of domestically-developed COVIran Barekat coronavirus vaccine.

The Leader had previously set two conditions for using the coronavirus vaccine: first, that he would not receive the vaccination out of turn; second, that he would only receive an Iranian vaccine. For this reason, when the first phase of the vaccination of Iranians aged 80 and above started, he did not receive the foreign vaccine and waited for the Iranian one.

Iranian scientists and experts have succeeded in developing several vaccines against the coronavirus, despite the cruel sanctions imposed by the US.