FNA - Iranian Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari declared that 6 companies in the country are leading efforts to find a vaccine for the coronavirus diseases.

�At present, 6 companies in Iran are working on the coronavirus vaccine and 3 of them have carried out more valuable activities so far,� Sattari told reporters in the Northwestern province of West Azarbaijan on Saturday night.

He noted that no country in the world has yet succeeded in the production of a drug or vaccine fully effective in fighting against the coronavirus, and said that Iran is now producing all types of medicine which have shown good effects on the improvement of patients� conditions.

�Also all equipment related to the disease, including masks and ventilators, are all being produced in the country,� Sattari said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in separate telephone conversations with his ministers of health and the interior late in August called for effective steps to be taken to gain access to the vaccine and drugs for the coronavirus disease.

In a telephone conversation with Health Minister Saeed Namaki, President Rouhani pointed to the news about the availability of coronavirus vaccine in some countries, and ordered the necessary to take experimental and diagnostic steps as soon as possible.

"Considering the spread of the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Health should take the necessary measures to prevent the fatigue of the country's medical personnel and, if necessary, take faster training of new personnel and replace them," the Iranian president said.

The Iranian health ministry announced on Saturday that 1,894 new cases of coronavirus infection have been identified across the country during the past 24 hours, adding that 110 patients have passed away in the same period.

"1,894 new patients infected with COVID-19 have been identified in the country based on confirmed diagnosis criteria during the past 24 hours,� Iranian Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Saturday, and added, "976 patients have been hospitalized during the same time span.�

She added that the total number of COVID-19 patients has increased to 384,666.

�Unfortunately, 110 patients have passed away in the past 24 hours, increasing the number of the dead to 22,154,� the spokeswoman noted.

Lari expressed satisfaction that 332,131 coronavirus patients have recovered or been discharged from hospitals so far.

The spokeswoman further said that 3,708 cases infected with COVID-19 are in critical conditions.

She went on to say that 3,355,152 coronavirus diagnosis tests have so far been conducted across the country.

Lari said that 28 provinces are still in red condition or the status of alert.