Mobile vaccination teams deployed to outskirts of Zahedan District to offer COVID-19 jabs to encourage junior uptake

The Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical education has been focusing on implementing initiatives to bring COVID-19 vaccination services closer to communities. Mobile vaccination teams have been deployed to especially hard-to-reach populations and rural communities.

Report from: Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Vice Chancellery for Health
Published on: 25 October 2021

Lack of public transportation, mobility issues, traveling distance, limited access to healthcare units, and work and family commitments make it hard for some people to get vaccinated. Mobile vaccination is one way to reach them.

The mobile COVID-19 vaccination team provides vaccination services on the outskirts of Zahedan District. According to the public relations report, Dr. Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, Vice Chancellor for Health of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, on the sidelines of visiting a COVID-19 vaccination center, said in an interview with an IRIB reporter: "These teams are dispatched to vaccinate all target groups residing in the outskirts of Zahedan District".

Zahedan University of Medical Sciences Vice Chancellor for Health continued: "Currently, there are 15 COVID-19 vaccination centers in the area covered by Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, in addition to urban and rural comprehensive health service centers and rural health houses that provide COVID-19 vaccination services."

Emphasizing that "the first available COVID-19 vaccine is the best vaccine", Dr. Tabatabaei added: "All people who have not been able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine so far are asked to vaccinate themselves and their families, and in addition to the COVID-19 vaccination, follow the health protocols.

He pointed out that the guideline to administer a third dose of vaccine to healthcare workers has been issued by Iran"s Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Healthcare workers who have been received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to get a booster jab 6 months after the second dose of vaccine.

He added: "Currently, we are witnessing a significant increase in vaccination coverage in the country and the province. In the field of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, more than 650 thousand doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been inoculated so far and vaccination coverage in the population over 18 years has reached 56% and about 30% populations under the age of 18 were also vaccinated against the disease. Overall 41% of people 12-18 years, including students have been vaccinated".