The recent collaboration between the Finlay Vaccine Institute of Cuba and the Pasteur Institute of Iran is on the research and development of vaccine technologies.

Both institutions agreed to transfer technology for the production of Soberana 02, in Iran, following a phase III clinical trial in the country.

92% effectiveness

Through the third phase of the clinical trial on 24,000 Iranian volunteers and 44,000 Cubans, it was found that the vaccine is 92 percent effective, Alireza Biglari, head of the Pasteur Institute, said.

An emergency permit for the Iranian-Cuban vaccine (called Pastu Covac in Iran) was issued on June 29, IRINN reported on Saturday.

The vaccine is also 100 percent effective in preventing severe forms of disease and mortality.

Pastu Covac is a conjugate vaccine with two injectable doses. It consists of the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein conjugated chemically to tetanus toxoid. This is the first vaccine to have a booster dose, and it is a great help to evaluate the results of human trials.

Vaccine production achievements

Iran is also producing vaccines jointly with three countries of Cuba, Russia, and Australia, which may also be released by September.

Mass vaccination against COVID-19 started on Iranian citizens with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine on February 9.

While Iran continues efforts to mass-produce local candidates, several foreign vaccines have already been imported and others are expected soon.

To date, the first Iranian-made vaccine has received an emergency use license, called COVIRAN BAREKAT, which is being injected to people across the country and can provide probably between 30 and 50 million doses, by the end of September.

Christoph Hamelmann, the former representative of the World Health Organization in Iran, said in March that Iran has one of the most successful platforms in the world for COVID-19 vaccine production.

“Considering the production line of the Pasteur vaccine, Iran is very advanced and successful in developing a vaccine while being able to help other countries, I am sure that Iran’s vaccine production platform is one of the most successful ones in the region,” he said.

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Fakhra vaccine, the third domestically-developed COVID-19 vaccine, named after nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was assassinated in November last year near Tehran, was unveiled and started the clinical trial on March 16.

Through the first phase, some 135 people have received the vaccine, project manager Ahmad Karimi said on Wednesday.

Through the second phase, 500 people will be selected to perform the human trial, he added.

After obtaining the necessary permits from the Ministry of Health, we will inject 30,000 doses of the vaccine through the third phase of the human trial, he said.

Vaccination to end by late November

President Hassan Rouhani said in May that If the volume of COVID-19 vaccine required by the country is provided, the vaccination of people with underlying diseases will be completed by late July, and the whole population will be vaccinated by late November.

To vaccinate people with underlying diseases, about 14-15 million doses of vaccine is required, while we now have 5 million doses, so another 10 million must be provided to complete the process by the end of July, then we will continue the process with foreign and domestic vaccines, he explained.

He expressed hope to start vaccination of the whole population by the end of the summer (September 23), noting that given the country’s ability of vaccine administration, vaccinating 500,000 people in 24 hours, the entire population can receive the vaccine within three to four months.

Homegrown vaccines

COVIRAN BAREKAT, the first coronavirus vaccine made by researchers at the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, will complete the third phase of the human trial by late June.

The vaccine was unveiled on December 29, 2020, and started to be mass-produced on March 29.

The second Iranian-made vaccine developed by the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute (Razi Cov Pars) to be administered among the population in early August; which started the clinical trial on February 27, entered the second phase of the human trial on Friday.

“Osvid-19”, the fourth domestic vaccine produced by Osvah Pharmaceutical Company is also undergoing human trials, which will also be available in early September.

On May 24, the first coronavirus vaccine made by the private sector in Iran succeeded in receiving the code of ethics and entered the phase of clinical studies.

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Latest data extracted from Eurostat’s datasets show that Iran and 27 members of the European Union traded €704 million worth of goods and commodities in the first two months of the current year.

As per report, Iran’s exports to EU countries have declined by 26 percent in January and February compared with the previous year’s corresponding period and it fell from 166m euros in previous year to 122 million euros. By the way, European states in the same period have exported goods to Iran worth 582m euros which indicates 6 percent slump comparing with the previous year’s corresponding period while the figure stood at 619m euros in the same period last year.

The report claims Germany has been Iran’s major European trade partner in months of January and February of this year and it has accounted for forty percent of Iran’s total trade with EU.

Germany has exported goods and commodities worth 240m euros and imported goods worth 41m euros from Iran in this two-month period.

The U.S. unilateral sanctions on Iran have affected significantly trade between Iran and Europe and it is expected by the return of the U.S. to the nuclear deal and removing sanctions, the trade between Iran and EU would get boosted.

Major European companies are reluctant to cooperate with Iran because of the U.S. sanctions and possible fines and punishment by the U.S.

The outbreak of the coronavirus has also worsened the condition for trade between Iran and EU because for months the borders were closed and the economies were challenging to survive because of the pandemic and the lockdowns.

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India’s number of cases surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks, and hospitals in Delhi and across the country are turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds.

“We were confident, our spirits were up after successfully tackling the first wave, but this storm has shaken the nation,” Modi said in a radio address.

Modi’s government has faced criticism that it let its guard down, allowed big religious and political gatherings to take place when India’s cases plummeted to below 10,000 a day and did not plan on building up the healthcare systems.

Hospitals and doctors have put out urgent notices that they were unable to cope with the rush of patients.

People were arranging stretchers and oxygen cylinders outside hospitals as they desperately pleaded for authorities to take patients in, Reuters photographers said.

“Every day, it the same situation, we are left with two hours of oxygen, we only get assurances from the authorities,” one doctor said on television.

Outside a Sikh temple in Ghaziabad city on the outskirts of Delhi the street resembled an emergency ward of a hospital, but crammed with cars carrying COVID-19 patients gasping for breath as they were hooked up to hand held oxygen tanks.

Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal extends lockdown by a week

Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday the city state would continue to be under a lockdown till May 3, as coronavirus cases rise steeply.

“A lockdown was the last weapon we had to deal with the coronavirus but with cases rising so quickly we had to use this weapon,” he said.

India’s total tally of infections stands at 16.96 million and deaths 192,311 after 2,767 more died overnight, health ministry data showed.

In the last month alone, daily cases have gone up eight times and deaths by 10 times. Health experts say the death count is probably far higher.

The country of 1.3 billion people is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe, Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, warned in an op-ed published Saturday in the Washington Post.

“Our hearts go out to the Indian people in the midst of the horrific COVID-19 outbreak,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on twitter.

“We are working closely with our partners in the Indian government, and we will rapidly deploy additional support to the people of India and India’s health care heroes.”

US concerned by massive surge in India

The United States said it was deeply concerned by the massive surge in coronavirus cases in India and was racing to send aid to India.

Washington, however, has faced criticism in India for its export controls on raw materials for vaccines put in place via the Defense Production Act and an associated export embargo in February.

The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine maker, this month urged US President Joe Biden to lift the embargo on US exports of raw materials that is hurting its production of AstraZeneca shots.

Others such as US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi urged the Biden administration to release unused vaccines to India.

“When people in India and elsewhere desperately need help, we can’t let vaccines sit in a warehouse, we need to get them where they’ll save lives,” he said.

India’s surge is expected to peak in mid-May with the daily count of infections reaching half a million, the Indian Express said citing an internal government assessment.

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Coronavirus is killing people in Yemen more than any other place in the world and the world should be warned that mercy, equity, generosity and human rights have all closed down and been disregarded. All are witnessing this horrible massacre but nobody takes any action.

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari in an interview with Russian news agency Sputnik which has been quoted in the Al-Ahed news website has emphasized that Yemen suffers from multiple challenges in facing the “Covid-19” pandemic due to the critical security situation in the country. Saudi Arabia and the UAE after failure in achieving their goals in Yemen are taking revenge from Yemeni people and are obstructing the arrival of humanitarian items for the needy children and women in Yemen.

As health and nutrition exports report, it is predicted in case this cruel besiege of Yemen continues, millions of Yemenis will strive of hunger and famine. Al-Mandhari in this interview has officially warned that the ongoing conflict impeding many support activities and has exhausted the health sector and blocked supplies for some areas. The Omani official of WHO added that the conditions of displacement and asylum have made difficulties and challenges access to health services to those who need.

According to the official published, it can definitely be said that these figures are not even ten percent of the genuine statistics of the infected patients and death tolls. The number of COVID-19 infected Yemenis has been reported 2,177 cases and its death toll until last Wednesday has been 620 that health observers and experts believe this figure cannot be real because of the weak health system and lack of capability in testing in Yemen, and the reported figure cannot be even ten percent of the real figure of the infected or death toll and the number of reported cases of the infected Yemeni is not authentic.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, December 29, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that due to the Saudi-led coalition’s aggressive war in Yemen and some other factors, so far about 223,000 people have lost their lives in this country. The UN office has repeatedly in different messages and statements officially emphasized that Yemen needs ceasefire.

It is noteworthy to remind that last week UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, had warned, “Human condition in Yemen is deteriorating day by day. However we can hinder famine in this country. We need truce and to open the doors of Yemen to the humanitarian aids.” He emphasized, “Despite coronavirus pandemic, we have offered necessary equipment and materials for helping the health sector for fight with COVID-19 and reinforcing laboratory and supervision capability for boosting medical checkup and getting COVID-19 tests. But health sector is still facing with problem in monitoring the COVID-19 infected and conducting necessary tests. So we believe that handling some cases have not been completed or monitored.”

Yemen Foreign Minister in a press conference which was published on Al-Ahed news website for the umpteen time emphasized, “Saudi Arabia is not after stopping the war but we welcome talks for ending the war or even ceasefire.”

That Yemen is today subjected to a huge cruelty then where should we take this fact that the Hebrew-Arab-Western arrogance sees its interests in the continuity of turmoil in any part of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden? Who is to respond to this fact that all of these injustices, due to the international bodies’ defiance, have been showered against Yemeni people whose demand is just the independence of their country for getting out of the Saudis’ yoke?

Indeed, in this belligerence rooted by the hatred of Arab versus Arab, should not we consider Saudis deserving punishment? Undoubtedly and without the smallest hesitation today after years of ruthless massacre of poor Yemeni people, Saudi rulers should stand trial as the war criminal. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Organization and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should convene without any delay and as soon as possible, they should take some action to stop war and then to form a fact-finding committee for finding the aggressor and  filing a petition for its trial.

  By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Head of Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Behzad Mohammadi says major foreign companies have signaled positive pulses regarding the U.S.’s probable return to the JCPOA, saying the petrochemical industry will see more projects to come on stream this year.

Speaking in a press conference on the National Petrochemical Industry Day, Mohammadi said that 17 projects with the investment of $11b will come on stream by the end of the current Iranian calendar year, adding that so far 9 projects have been inaugurated and the remaining eight projects will be inaugurated by the yearend. He noted that by inauguration of the remaining projects, 25m tons will be added to the capacity of the industry and it will increase to 90m tons per year. He admitted that due to the coronavirus pandemic there has been some delay and one or two projects may be inaugurated next year.

He said petrochemical industry is strengthening its position in the country as the industry number one and it is also strengthening its position in the national economy more and more. He noted the valuable achievements of this industry indicate the ineffectiveness of the imposed sanctions against its companies and managers.

Mohammadi pointed to the production sector in the petrochemical industry, saying that the number of production complexes was 55 last year and currently it is 64 complexes and it will reach 70 by implementation of the new projects.

He said almost 30 percent of the petrochemical projects are consumed in the country and 70 percent are exported to different countries.

He referred to the diversity of products, saying that currently 90 types of petrochemical products are produced in the country as 18 are polymeric and they are produced in 333 grades.

On the probability of the U.S. return to the nuclear deal with Iran, the JCPOA, and effects of it on the development of petrochemical industry and rise in the exports, he said this change would help the country in the fields of transfer of technology and above all attraction of foreign investment between 80 to 180 billion dollars, noting that foreign investment can definitely boost the industry.

Mohammadi added that currently they have not started talks with any foreign company but they have received positive pulses from some major foreign companies on the possible return of the U.S. to the JCPOA.

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Speaking in a TV program on Sat., the Head of National Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters said, “The issue of provision of COVID-19 vaccines was at the focal attention of all countries from the beginning and all countries were after producing the vaccine. Accordingly, we also followed up the issue of producing COVID-19 vaccine in the country, so that various institutions and knowledge-based companies started producing the vaccine.”

Given the approval of the Ministry of Health, giant steps were taken in this regard, he said, adding, “We hope to meet the demand in the field of producing domestic coronavirus vaccine.”

At the same time, expert-level sessions were held in the presence of President Rouhani in the field of provision of COVID-19 vaccine, in which, the president emphasized providing COVID-19 vaccine until the Iranian vaccine is manufactured, the interior minister added.

The said issue in the field of producing the coronavirus vaccine was put atop the agenda of the Ministry of Health.

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The president expressed gratitude to the nation for their cooperation in the past weeks, which has resulted in a considerable decline in the number of daily infections and fatalities due to respiratory disease.

Rouhani further emphasized, “Victory over the disease is possible, but it may be a little difficult and time-consuming. We will definitely win and we must stand firm and know that victory is certain.”

The president noted that more than 25 million Iranians who have been infected with the coronavirus have overcome the disease, but another 30-35 million people are at risk of contracting it.

Iran tightened its coronavirus-related localized restrictions in the past two months to ward off an outbreak that was killing nearly 500 every day, by enforcing travel restrictions, closing non-essential businesses, and placing a nightly curfew in regions hit worst by the virus.

The stringent measures imposed in the past two months seem to have curbed the third wave of infections, as the number of cities on the highest coronavirus alert has dived from 160 to zero during the period.

The fatalities have also dropped to one third compared to those in September.

The Iranian Health Ministry announced 6,021 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday (lowest since mid-October) and 132 deaths (lowest since early September).

Govt. working hard to neutralize, eliminate US sanctions

Rouhani said the government is exerting every effort to neutralize and eliminate the illegal sanctions imposed by the administration of outgoing US President Donald Trump.

The president referred to the recent remarks by the Iranian Leader, saying, “We are doing all we can to render these sanctions ineffective and eliminate them and everybody must work to this end.”

He lambasted the US regime for hampering the country’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “We have fought hours for any money that enters the country or any commodity that is exported.”

Iran has been among the countries hit hard by the coronavirus that first showed up in China in late December 2019 before spreading across the globe.

However, illegal US sanctions have hampered the virus fight in Iran.

Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Abdolnasser Hemmati said on Thursday that there were no more obstacles in the way of purchasing coronavirus vaccines despite challenges caused by the US, ten months after the virus emerged in the country.

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Inflation is the opposite of deflation, which is a decrease in price levels. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the US economy has experienced very low inflation and even deflation. Outside of a few sectors, such as health care, Americans have not had to deal with many unusual price increases.

In 2021, however, as Reade Pickert and Vince Golle explain at Bloomberg, “Americans are likely to see prices jump across a variety of sectors next year, thanks in part to Covid-19 vaccines that will potentially turbocharge demand for such pandemic casualties as travel and tickets to sporting events.”

A moderate level of inflation occurs naturally in a growing economy.

Hyperinflation, which is usually defined as inflation above 50%, is destructive to an economy. In recent years, hyperinflation has destroyed the economies of Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Argentina. The nature of the inflation being discussed for the US in 2021 is 2% to 4%, nowhere near the 438% rate predicted for Venezuela for 2021. Some people hear the word “inflation” and panic, but there is no need for that.

And, according to Pickert and Golle, “One critical ingredient will be missing to sustain higher inflation: a tight labor market.” Wages are likely to stay low, which will keep “pressure” prices, too.

As with most things (especially when it comes to financing), inflation is good for some people and not for others. Moderate inflation has plenty of economic benefits: Higher prices encourage businesses to invest and expand. Interest rates go up, so banks start paying interest on checking accounts again. And higher wages, which will indeed come to certain sectors of the labor market, give workers an incentive to spend money.

Early on in a period of inflation, corporate profits will increase because inventory costs may reflect pre-inflation prices – but wages will not increase right away.

Over time, wages and costs will both increase, and depreciation will be based on historic costs that do not reflect actual replacement values. Managers will need to think about costs differently, and some will do better than others.

If wages increase by 4% a year, then a mortgage with a 2.5% interest rate gets cheaper each year by comparison (essentially, if you owe somebody money, in a period of inflation you’re paying back your lender with cash worth less than it was at the time you originally borrowed it). However, a bank CD paying 2% interest would also lose spending power every year during inflation periods. Bond prices also fall.

In recent years, consumers have been trained to “wait for the sale” – to avoid buying a good because it’ll surely be cheaper later. In a deflationary environment, goods do in fact go down in price over time. But under inflation, prices go up, so it doesn’t make sense to wait.

(In a hyperinflationary economy, people essentially find that shopping is a better use of their time than going to work. If prices are increasing daily or even hourly, wages can’t keep up.) In 2021, act quickly based on real-time circumstances rather than what you expect to happen in the future – and think about whether you’re more of a debtor or a saver.

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