Coronavirus: Iran gets US$244 million shot in the arm for vaccine import despite sanctions

Name: Poor countries said to be left behind in Covid-19 vaccine race as rich nations get first doses
Uploaded: 2020-12-24T12:42:31.000Z
Duration: 3 min 58 s
Description: Poor countries said to be left behind in Covid-19 vaccine race as rich nations get first doses

The central bank has received an agreement from an unidentified bank to transfer US$244 million payment for a vaccine

President Rowhani promised Iranians that his government would find a way to make the shots available to them on time

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A volunteer prepares a grave for a funeral of a person who died from Covid-19 at a cemetery in Ghaemshahr, northern Iran. Photo: AP

Bloomberg

Published: 8:42pm, 24 Dec 2020Updated: 8:42pm, 24 Dec 2020

Iran has found a way to buy coronavirus vaccines despite US sanctions, in a breakthrough for the country fighting the worst outbreak of the virus in the Middle East.

The central bank received an agreement from an unidentified bank to transfer a 200 million-euro (US$244 million) payment for a vaccine, central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Thursday in an Instagram post, without giving further details of the payment mechanism or the vaccine supplier.

“We are in direct contact with the Ministry of Health … if necessary, the amount will also be increased,” he said.

With around 1.2 million people infected and over 54,000 dead, Iran’s coronavirus outbreak is the worst in the region, but officials have previously said their ability to fight it is hampered by sanctions.

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Poor countries said to be left behind in Covid-19 vaccine race as rich nations get first doses

“When we talk about importing vaccines, we curse 100 times this Trump, who doesn’t even care about people’s health,” President Hassan Rowhani said.