TEHRAN (Iran News) – It is encouraging to see COVID-19 vaccination accelerating in Iran, WHO says. The World Health Organization has issued a statement, saying that it is encouraging to see an acceleration in coronavirus vaccination in Iran that started early August.
The statement on “COVID-19 Vaccination in Iran” by Dr. Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative & Head of Mission to the Islamic Republic of Iran, reads: “As of 16 August 2021, 13.1% of the total population have received the first dose and 5.15% have received two doses. While delays in delivering sufficient doses of COVID-19 vaccines limited the capacity to increase coverage, it is encouraging to see an acceleration that started early August 2021, reaching priority groups and people in the age groups of the 40s and 30s in the worst-hit provinces of Iran.”
WHO is closely monitoring the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran. The Organization reiterates its commitment to support the country in responding to the pandemic.
WHO acknowledges greatly the increase in frequency of vaccination recently after deployment of international and locally-made vaccines. Based on the data shared by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as of 20 August 2021, 21,805,879 doses of different vaccines have been administered in Iran. This includes utilization of 16,378,331 of those for the first dose and 5,427, 548 for 2nd dose of vaccination. This means thus far 19.3% of the whole population has received the first dose whereas 6.38% of the whole population is fully vaccinated which is a considerable change in a few days. However, it is not enough for breaking the chain of viral transmission.
It is to be noted that the 8.5 million doses of COVAX allocation mentioned earlier are spanned to arrive over several months. The August to September consignment is approximately 3 million doses.
As part of its ongoing response to the pandemic in Iran, the World Health Organization continues to mobilize teams to provide information, recommendations, and technical guidance. WHO also continues to engage proactively with national counterparts to strengthen the health care system and raise awareness about the virus to counter its heavy economic and social burden.
One key measure taken in Iran is the COVID-19 Emergency Response Project (ICERP), financed by the World Bank and in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran. The project delivered life-saving medical and diagnostic equipment to public hospitals and laboratories across the country to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
