Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi announced the arrival of the influenza vaccine in the country on Friday, on the sidelines of the 51st anniversary ceremony of the establishment of the pre-hospital emergency service held at the Olympic Hotel in Tehran. He stated that due to the lack of cooperation from European companies, the new vaccines have been procured from China and Russia.
Details of Vaccine Arrival
Zafarghandi explained that these vaccines will gradually enter the country's health system from the end of September and will be administered with priority to the elderly and high-risk groups. He also noted that the necessary orders for these vaccines have been placed and there are no issues with their procurement.
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Status of Other Vaccines
The Minister of Health, in response to a question about the shortage of general vaccines, stated that the public vaccination of children is being carried out well and there is no shortage in this regard. He added that despite the tough economic conditions and sanctions, essential vaccines have been sufficiently procured, but the influenza vaccine needs to be obtained in a timely manner.
Zafarghandi further emphasized the importance of emergency services and said: “The emergency system is very organized, and our colleagues reach the incident site as quickly as possible.” He also referred to the efforts made to strengthen the emergency fleet and mentioned that contracts have been signed with provincial governments to jointly fund the ambulance fleet costs.
Proper Training and Distribution of Doctors
Zafarghandi also addressed the issue of educating the public about emergency services and said that if people are trained, they can assist patients until the emergency services arrive. Regarding the shortage of doctors and nurses in the country, he stated that this issue is related to improper distribution and that proper distribution should be ensured by providing adequate livelihoods.
In conclusion, the Minister of Health referred to the efforts made to improve the livelihoods of emergency service colleagues and stated that various actions will be taken in this regard. Zafarghandi emphasized that in terms of numbers, doctors and nurses are sufficiently provided, but the main issue lies in their distribution.
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