Islamic Republic Health Minister had a busy day in front of cameras. Dr. Bahram Eynollahi announced the “smart quarantine” will begin soon and unvaccinated people will have restrictions on receiving services. He added a “vaccine barcode” will be used to identify the vaccinated. He admitted there are shortage of beds and some medical services in Mashhad, the second biggest city of Iran. Eynollahi also claimed there would be “national vaccination celebration” after “70% of the country, which was our goal, is vaccinated in the next 2 weeks! Again, using the word “vaccinated” for the ones with 1 jab in their arms. According to the Ministry of Health data, since February 9, only 15,824,520 (18.83% of population) have received both doses of ineffective vaccines. Majority has received Sinopharm and COVIran Barekat. Eynollahi said the “vaccinated” wouldn’t have restrictions for traveling or going to work. Health experts believe at least 85% of the population must be fully vaccinated, 2 weeks pass after the second dose.
Although Eynollahi and National COVID-19 Task Force Spokesman have claimed 2.5m doses of Pfizer are to be imported in the next few weeks for pregnant ladies, they appear to have changed their minds! Ministry of Health issued a statement saying “importing Pfizer is not in the agenda and Sinopharm should be used for pregnant women.” The Ministry also claimed that Islamic Republic has imported “the most reliable vaccines since the beginning,” which every word of it is false. Vaccination began on February 9 with Sputnik V, when it wasn’t even approved by WHO. And these days, Sinopharm is the major vaccine which is administered to kids too, a usage it has not been approved yet. COVIran Barekat has not published any of its results yet, despite 4m doses of it used in the country. And Fakhra Vac, which is being offered at some vaccination centers is in its third phase of clinical trials but approved for “emergency use” by the Ministry of Health, because it is named after Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and IRGC is behind it!
On the other hand, empty promises of Islamic Republic officials manifest themselves left and right. The current Vice President had promised COVIran Barekat would be “exported soon” and even “Switzerland is interested” in the vaccine. He had also boldly claimed 50m doses will be distributed across the country by September 22! None of which happened. However, local reports indicate Hayat Vax, manufactured in UAE, has been imported but Islamic Republic officials have kept it quiet to prevent their embarrassment and not bold their regional rival. Some say it has been used as the first dose, some say as second. One says he received Hayat Vax but Sinopharm was listed in his vaccination card!
While western provinces are drowned in the flood of patients and deaths, Arbaeen “pilgrims” are arriving in huge numbers, in buses and on foot. The chaos is inexplicable. In the meantime, the crowds who have not followed any protocols during their trip, are flocking back to Iran.
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 239 died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 11,701 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Tehran University Professor believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 to resemble the reality and Civil Registration Organization data shows more than 287,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. The graphs illustrate the misery of Islamic Republic in the past 19 months.
R0: 2.25
Total: 5,559,691 (+11,701)
Dead: 119,888 (+239)
Recovered: 4,988,109
Critical: 6,124 (-85)
Active Cases: 451,694 (-10,549)
Total Tests: 31,976,745
