COVID-19 vaccine shortage prolongs as Islamic Republic officials entertain the idea of mixing homegrown vaccines as the second shot for the imported ones. Lead researcher in clinical trials at Tehran Medical University admits this is an unknown territory which could be potentially dangerous, considering all current vaccines have been studied for a short period of time and their long-term complications are unclear. On the other hand, Dr Minoo Mohraz, lead investigator of COVIran Barekat vaccine, which is supposed to be ready to get approved by the Islamic Republic FDA any day, went back on her earlier statement that there is no “consensus on the matter” and claimed it is safe to use COVIran Barekat as the second dose.
In the meantime, only 100,000 doses of Sputnik V as their ninth shipment, arrived in Tehran. Islamic Republic officials had claimed in January that they had an agreement with the manufacturer for 2million doses of Sputnik V and then added another 60million doses to the pile to be delivered by fall. To date about 1million doses are imported. As usual, Islamic Republic authorities blame other countries for their failures, citing manufacturers’ delays as the reason for shortage of vaccines and not their incompetence in securing enough vaccines in time.
According to official data, since February 9, only 0.88% of population, 742,817, have received both doses while 5,032,212 total doses have been administered across Iran.
Chairman of COVID-19 Scientific Committee claimed 3million doses of homegrown vaccine doses will be ready by June 22. Dr. Ghanei asserted 11million doses are available by July 22, and 21million by August 21 and 30million by November! At the same time, Islamic Republic Education Minister promised teachers will be immunized by August, at the latest. The regime officials have been making bold claims like these in the past 16 months and barely any of them have been delivered.
Meanwhile, Hormozgan officials continue to report increasing number of coronavirus cases and COVID-19 deaths, calling the situation “critical.” Spokesperson for the Medical University announced 12 deaths in the past 24hrs, which is a record in the past 10 months! Despite warnings about the fifth wave, dominated by Indian (Delta) variant, the regime “presidential candidates” hold gatherings indoors without following any health protocols. Boyerahmad Governor expresses his worry over the crowded speeches, and Rouhani orders “strict implementation” of protocols and banning “candidates” who do not abide by the COVID-19 rules, as if all other protocols have been enforced properly since the epidemic began 16 months ago.
Ministry of Health Spokesman continues to present manipulated data on a daily basis. Sima Sadat Lari claimed 153 died of COVID-19 in Iran in the past 24 hours and 12,398 tested positive for the novel coronavirus, another rise in cases. She did not mention any specifics about the new variants. Iran Medical Board officials estimate the real numbers are at least 3 times higher than the daily reports. The graphs clearly indicate the history of Islamic Republic mismanagement during the crisis.
R0: 2.93
Total: 3,003,112 (+12,398)
Dead: 81,672 (+153)
Recovered: 2,612,091
Critical: 3,549 (-35)
Active Cases: 309,349 (-9,164)
Tests: 21,194,370 (25.1% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
Cover: Fatemeh Rahimavian
