An unidentified group of US-based philanthropists plans to send 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Iran in the coming weeks, Iranian media reported Monday.
Details remained scarce in the report by semiofficial Tasnim news agency. It quoted the chief of the country's Red Crescent Society as saying he expects the vaccine created by American drug maker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech to be imported by January 19 "based on coordination with a group of benefactors in the US".
READ MORE:
• Coronavirus marches through Italy, Iran and United States as deaths mount
• Covid 19 coronavirus: Massive Iran cemetery struggles to keep up with virus deaths
• Coronavirus: Shocking footage of man refused help in Iran as global cases surpass 100,000
• Iran threatens legal action against New Zealand government if SIS raid is 'proven'
The mysterious donation could bring the hardest-hit country in the Middle East closer to inoculating its citizens against the coronavirus. Iran has struggled to stem the worst virus outbreak in the Middle East, which has infected more than 1.2 million people and killed nearly 55,000.
Karim Hemmati, the Red Crescent director, said his organisation plans to receive an additional 1 million vaccine doses, which on Sunday the semiofficial Khabaronline news website reported would come from China. The vaccines will be offered to citizens free of charge, Hemmati said.