Tehran, Voice of the Emirates – Mohammad Abdzadeh, head of the Health Economics Committee at the Tehran Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warned of an impending crisis in the country’s pharmaceutical sector. He indicated that numerous problems have created a series of shortages in the medical field.
Abd Zadeh said: “If the problem of securing foreign currency and rials is not resolved, the last three months of the year are likely to be difficult for the medical sector.”
He added that pharmaceutical companies’ claims against public and private companies and pharmacies have exceeded 150 trillion tomans. This amount represents approximately half the size of the Iranian pharmaceutical market. Manufacturers have been unable to receive their payments.
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For his part, MP Homayoun Sameh Najafabadi, a member of the parliamentary health committee, warned of the high cost of the flu vaccine and its lack of coverage by health insurance. This has deprived many of access to it and increased the risk of flu-related deaths compared to COVID-19.
He explained that the prices of foreign flu vaccines range between 900,000 and 1.7 million tomans. Meanwhile, the Iranian vaccine has not gained widespread public trust due to its high cost, leading to a significant decrease in sales.
Experts have warned that these ongoing problems could worsen the health crisis in the coming months if urgent measures are not taken to ensure the availability of medicines and vaccines for the population.
