Islamic Republic Ministry of Health has begun issuing “vaccination cards” online for the ones who have received 1 or 2 doses of the majority ineffective vaccines in Iran. Most services are only going to be provided to people who own the card. Certain COVID-19 restrictions are also waived for people with this card, including gyms, traveling, and business restrictions, even if they have received only 1 shot! This is “smart quarantine” program, according to the Islamic Republic Health Minister.
Chinese Sinopharm which is not approved by the WHO for children, is being used on children in Iran. COVIran Barekat is the second most used vaccine after Sinopharm, however, the majority of Iranians do not opt for it because it has not published any of its results yet and after months of being administered to Iranians, it is seeking WHO’s approval! Islamic Republic officials claim 70% of people will be vaccinated “soon” while only 16,408,496 (19.53% of population) have received 2 doses.
In addition, according to some local reports, Fakhra is being administered to people without their consent! They are told they received Sinopharm while Fakhra vials are used for the jab.
On the other hand, health experts warn about the next wave of coronavirus outbreak in the country. Dr. Ahmadi-Baloutaki of Ahvaz Health Council expressed his worry about slow vaccination and a 4-6 week window for full immunization of Khuzestan province. He said, “November last year was one of the peaks in Khuzestan, and we’re very concerned the history will repeat itself if vaccination is not accelerated.”
Additionally, Arbaeen “pilgrims” continue to be a concern and a problem for Khuzestan. Dr. Alavi of Ahvaz Medical University said the “pilgrims” are impatient and do not follow the protocols. He also pointed out other countries who have resumed their normal activities, have vaccinated 85-90% of their population with 2 doses of vaccines, warning only 19% of Khuzestan residents have received 2 shots. He said to reach a level of immunity to prevent a big next wave, an additional 42% of population must receive both shots.
The Ministry of Health claimed 235 died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 14,525 tested positive for the novel coronavirus, another increase in cases. Daily hospitalization remains above 2,100 across Iran. Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 and Civil Registration Organization data show more than 288,000 have died of the disease since February 202. Graphs illustrate the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in the past 19 months.
R0: 2.19
Total: 5,601,565 (+14,525)
Dead: 120,663 (+235)
Recovered: 5,053,551
Critical: 5,841 (-97)
Active Cases: 427,351 (-7,569)
Total Tests: 32,306,789
Cover: Seyed Khalil Mousavi
