While Islamic Republic officials continue their trumpeting of “COVID-19 vaccine flood” and “breaking weekly administration records,” health experts warn that 1 dose vaccines is not enough and won’t create immunity. Dr. Younesian said Iran is far away from an “immune population” and therefore, reopenings must be done step by step. “A single protocol for the entire country is a mistake!” The epidemiologist admitted Muharram gatherings were one of the reasons for the high daily death toll and why there are still hundreds of deaths every day, even though the official data indicate the fifth wave may be on the decline.
Dr. Tabarsi, head of infectious-disease ward at Masih Daneshvari hospital in Tehran, reiterated it is too early to reopen schools for in-person classes since the majority of the population are not vaccinated yet. He admitted 60% of Iranians have contracted the virus which equals to about 50.5 million cases, while official stats show about 5.4m until today. Another proof that the daily report by the Ministry of Health is nothing but a sham! Dr. Tabarsi also warned about flu breakout this fall and winter since compliance with masking and social distancing have decreased significantly compared to last year.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health issued the new list of “coloring” for cities across Iran. According to the new list, 57 cities, mostly in the west, remain “red” while 238 are designated as “orange”, including Tehran, and 136 are considered “yellow.” After months without a “blue” city, 17 are in this category. Lorestan, West Azerbaijan and Kermanshah report increasing number of cases and hospitalizations due to Delta infections.
Despite warnings from the health experts, the Health Minister insists on reopening schools, especially by “vaccinating students between 7-18 with a special vaccine.” The Islamic Republic also is determined to send thousands of Iranians to Iraq for Arbaeen gatherings!
The Ministry of Health claimed total of 41,250,460 shots have been administered in Iran while only 13,459,625 (16.02% of population) have received both doses of ineffective and unverified vaccines since February 9. The Spokesperson also claimed 364 died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 17,605 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Civil Registration Organization data indicate more than 277,000 passed away from the disease since February 2020. Professor Holakoui believes the official numbers must be multiplied by 7 to reach some reality. The graphs illustrate the devastation caused by 5 waves of coronavirus in Iran, more than any other country in the world.
R0: 2.52
Total: 5,396,013 (+17,605)
Dead: 116,436 (+364)
Recovered: 4,708,195
Critical: 6,902 (-79)
Active Cases: 571,382 (-8,250)
Total Tests: 30,782,338
Cover: Ali Haddadi-Asl
