Even though the Islamic Republic Ministry of Health had claimed the COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Iran are in the decline, provinces report a different story. Ahvaz Medical University reported increasing number of cases and hospitalizations. Dr. Abolnejadian announced 2.9% increase in hospitalizations and 18% in daily death tolls in Khuzestan province. Fars has more than 1,500 admitted to hospitals and Lorestan officials warn of the uptick in cases. Kerman Governor expresses his concern over the rise in cases and asks residents to follow protocols. Head of Zanjan Medical University sounded the alarm for the sixth wave and said its psychological impacts on people and healthcare staff would be catastrophic and irreparable!
Meanwhile, the rift between the people and Islamic Republic has deepened and less people show up for their second doses. Fars, Mashhad and many other provinces have reported low turnout for second dose administration. Khamenei banned reliable US and UK made vaccines in January while pushing for the failed “domestic vaccines.” On the other hand, the Chinese Sinopharm became the major vaccine used in Iran, even on children 12-17 years old. The vaccine is not approved for that age range and in a study conducted in Shiraz, it was proven that it is ineffective against Delta variant. Additionally, WHO recommends 3 doses of the vaccine for “full vaccination!” The staggering numbers for inoculation in Iran is the manifestation of the mistrust.
According to the official data, since February 9, only 42,183,468 (50.21% of Iran population) have received 2 doses of these vaccines.
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 124 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 4,306 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 and Civil Registration Organization data show more than 305,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. Graphs illustrate the ongoing crisis in Iran and forming of the new wave.
R0: 2.04
Total: 6,031,575 (+4,306)
Dead: 128,042 (+124)
Recovered: 5,683,458
Critical: 3,533 (-13)
Active Cases: 220,075 (-8,620)
Total Tests: 36,932,280
Cover: Mohammadreza Farbod
