Ministry: Close to 52m COVID-19 vaccine doses administered

The statement added 36,303,822 people have so far received their first dose of the jab, putting at 15,646,961 the number of those given the second dose.

It noted that the exact number of the administered vaccine doses stands at 51,950,783.

Iran’s public vaccination process has gained greater momentum over the past weeks in view of the rise in imports and domestic production of vaccines, setting new daily records.

The country has received several COVID-19 vaccine batches from Russia (Sputnik V), China (Sinopharm), Japan (AstraZeneca) and India (COVAXIN), and has also developed a number of COVID jabs domestically, including one dubbed COVIran Barekat (Barakat Foundation), a jab named Soberana 2, or PastoCoVac (Cuba’s Instituto Finlay de Vacunas and Iran’s Pasteur Institute) and a vaccine known as Fakhra (Defense Ministry).

The other two COVID jabs being developed in the country are Noura (the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps) and Razi Cov Pars (Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute).

According to figures by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Sinopharm accounts for the biggest share of the country’s jab purchases.

The Monday statement by the Health Ministry added the country’s daily COVID-19 deaths and infections reached 289 and 14,470, respectively, in the past 24 hours.

It said the total COVID-19 death toll and infections since the beginning of the outbreak in the country in late February 2020 stand at 119,649 and 5,547,990, respectively.

According to the ministry, 6,209 COVID-19 patients are in critical condition, and of the newly-detected cases, 2,219 individuals have been hospitalized.

It added 4,966,098 COVID-19 patients have so far either recovered from the disease or have been discharged from hospitals.

The statement added 31,868,828 coronavirus diagnostic tests have so far been carried out in the country.

The Health Ministry said 29 cities in the country are coded red (very high-risk), while 224 are in the orange zone (high-risk).

The number of the country’s yellow (medium-risk) and blue (low-risk) cities are 165 and 30, respectively, according to the ministry.

Iran has been grappling with a fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic since a few ‎weeks ago, mainly sparked by the spread of the Indian coronavirus variant, known ‎as Delta, seeing a resurgence in deaths and infections. The number of casualties has, however, been declining since a few days ago, indicating that the country is past the peak of the fifth wave’s infections and deaths.