Official: Iran receives Russian vaccine this week
An informed Iranian official says Tehran will receive a first batch of Russian-made COVID-19 vaccines later this week.
Civil aviation authority spokesman Mohammad Hassan Zibakhsh said on Monday that Iran's Mahan Air had been tasked with transporting the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine into Iran.
Zibakhsh said vaccine imports from Russia would be accommodated through three flights with two other Iranian airlines involved in the process.
The official did not elaborate on the number of doses planned for he first shipment shipment. However, he said an arrival planned for February 4 had been cancelled and that the Mahan Air will transport the cargo next working week beginning Saturday.
Iran's ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said on Saturday that a first batch of Sputnik V vaccines will be sent to Iran on February 7, citing an agreement with the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the body in Russia responsible for international marketing of vaccine.