Tehran: Iran has begun human trials of a locally-developed coronavirus vaccine, state television reported on Tuesday.
Three people received the first injections on Tuesday at a ceremony at a hotel in the capital Tehran.
The event was attended by health minister Saeed Namaki.
"This was a message to the Iranian nation that we have confidence and belief in what we plan to inject to our people, and if there are any side effects, all of us and our families are wholeheartedly ready for them," Namaki said.
56 volunteers are involved in the tests.
Read: New Covid-19 strain detected in Pakistan
The drug, named Coviran, is a so-called inactivated vaccine, meaning that it is made of a coronavirus that has been weakened or killed by chemicals, similar to how polio immunizations are made.
Leading Western vaccines, like the shot made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, use newer, less-proven technology to target the coronavirus’ spike protein using RNA.
Iran is the worst-hit country in the Middle East for COVID-19, which has infected over 1.2 million people in Iran and killed nearly 55,000.
President Hassan Rouhani has said Iran is cooperating with a "foreign country" to produce another vaccine that's expected to run in tests in human volunteers in February. He did not identify the foreign country involved.
AP
