Minoo Mohraz made the comment following reports that some vaccination centres in the country have run out of the second doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
Mohraz said the second dose must be injected on time as prescribed.
“If, for example, the second dose of a vaccine is supposed to be injected in four weeks’ time [after the first dose] but this does not happen due to whatever reason, the vaccination of an individual may start all over again. That means the vaccination which has taken place may be canceled and start all over again,” said Mohraz, who is also a member of Iran’s Coronavirus Headquarters and the head of the team involved in clinical studies of Iranian coronavirus vaccine CovIran Barekat.
She said research conducted in other countries show the injection of a difference vaccine for the second dose is fine, “but they have conducted these studies on their own vaccines and still have not reached a definite conclusion as to whether or not such a thing is possible.”
She said it is up to the Vaccination Commission of the Iranian Health Ministry to decide whether it would be fine to use a different vaccine for the inoculation of the second dose.
