Islamic Republic Red Crescent Society boastfully claimed in the morning local time that 2 million doses of “a vaccine” arrived in Tehran! Immediately, Customs and Ministry of Health officials announced only 1 million were imported and at a different airport than the one Red Crescent had said. The Society blamed the “misunderstanding” on the weight of the shipment, saying the airplane was too heavy to carry 2million, therefore, the next million will arrive “on the next flight from the source.” None of the authorities mentioned the country of origin or name of these COVID-19 shots!
Shortage of vaccines across Iran continues. Many are waiting for their second doses while 65+ age group remains in limbo! According to official numbers, since February 9, only 886,107 (1.05% of population) have received both doses while 5,252,255 total shots have been administered. The gap has grown in recent weeks, despite the Delta variant which is 1-dose evasive spreads through the country.
On the other hand, Ministry of Health added 9 more cities to the “high risk” areas of coronavirus, bringing the total “red” cities to 22! All red counties remain in the south, in Bushehr, Khuzestan, Hormozgan, Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan. According to head of Abadan Medical College, COVID-19 cases are on the rise while 46% positivity rate for the novel coronavirus in the southwest of Khuzestan is a red alarm for the fifth wave. Head of Hormozgan Medical University reported daily 1000+ coronavirus cases in the province while on average 700 are hospitalized or are treated as outpatient. Dr. Farshidi also confirmed 25% increase in COVID-19 deaths this June compared to last year’s.
Ministry of Health Spokesperson presented her daily manipulated figures, even though Iran Medical Board officials have admitted the real numbers are at least 3 times higher than the daily reports! Sima Sadat Lari claimed 139 died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours in Iran and 10,291 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. She, as usual, refused to provide any details on Delta (Indian) variant in the country while many cases had been confirmed in southern provinces. Graphs paint a vivid picture of 16-month incompetence by the Islamic Republic in handling the coronavirus crisis. Iran has been hit by many deadly waves which are still ongoing.
R0: 2.88
Total: 3,070,426 (+10,291)
Dead: 82,619 (+139)
Recovered: 2,708,743
Critical: 3,329 (-17)
Active Cases: 279,064 (-2,157)
Tests: 22,069,844 (26.2% of the population, assuming each test was performed on 1 person)
Cover: Peyman Hamidipoor
