Iran says its COVIran Barakat vaccine protects against UK Covid strain

Iran has claimed that one of its Covid-19 vaccines, COVIran Barakat, has been found to give complete protection against the British variant of the virus in human trials.

According to Iranian officials, COVIran Barakat , which has completed the first phase of clinical trials, is "100% effective" against the highly contagious new strain of Covid-19, reports Bloomberg citing Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim news agency cited Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's head of the state-run foundation overseeing production of domestic shot.

Officials have said the vaccine should be approved for public use by the summer.

A factory with the capacity to produce up to 3 million COVIran vaccines per month will be opened in two weeks, with a planned expansion allowing for up to 15 million doses by June, Mokhber said.

Iran, which has seen the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East, registered its first case of the variant in January.

Nationwide vaccinations started on 9 February using Russia's Sputnik V, and Iran has also secured 4.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University shot through the World Health Organization.

Some 10,000 Iranians have been inoculated so far, according to the health ministry.