Alireza Zali's revelation: We only have a vaccine for five days

The commander of Tehran's coronavirus response headquarters has made unprecedented statements exposing the cover-up of death tolls and the blocking of vaccine imports. He warned that a two-week lockdown is necessary or the coming weeks will contain bad news.

The escalating coronavirus crisis and medical and health shortages have forced the commander of the coronavirus response headquarters in Tehran to reveal unsaid facts. Alireza Zali said that when he called for a quarantine of the city and the cancellation of the elections after the first case of infection in Qom, he was ridiculed.

ISNA news agency quoted Zali as saying: "When the World Health Organization experts came to Iran, instead of consulting with them, we kept asking them to praise Iran's health system in the media. We hid the mortality statistics from the World Health Organization."

He also recalled the return of Doctors Without Borders aid from the airport and challenged China, saying: "Why doesn't China, our close friend, give us enough vaccines?"

In early April 2020, a chartered plane from Doctors Without Borders, including a field hospital, medicine, masks, medical uniforms, and other health items, that had departed from Bordeaux, France, for Tehran, was not allowed to unload the equipment and aid and was turned back.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of Kayhan newspaper, said in this regard: "From which border did these doctors apparently enter the country without any borders, and are they not with a motive?"

Zali added about the slow vaccination process and shortages, saying that they did not allow the purchase of vaccines under the pretext of their high cost, while the cost of corona drugs has now become several times the cost of importing vaccines: "Even if it were possible, we would have to spend twice the price to buy vaccines to prevent infections and deaths... We have much more bitter news for the coming weeks, and the situation will get much worse."

He revealed that the vaccine stockpile is only enough for five days, and therefore the speed of vaccination cannot be increased: "We spent 720 million euros on Remdesivir, and we should have spent this money on the vaccine. How is it that during the sanctions we are willing to buy oil equipment at three times the price, but we do not do this for the vaccine?"

These words show how important or priority people's lives are to those involved and decision-makers. Zali said that there is no other option but a two-week lockdown to control the fifth peak of the coronavirus in Iran, and this lockdown must be implemented immediately. He had warned three weeks ago that the situation in Tehran was worse than the media reports.

The commander of the Corona Countermeasures Headquarters in Tehran also revealed the hesitancy of the Islamic Republic's ambassadors in other countries to provide the vaccine, saying: "I spoke with the Japanese ambassador, and he said that the Iranian ambassador did not come looking for the vaccine at all. What kind of diplomacy is this?"

Zali's revelations and complaints came on a day when the Islamic Republic's leader, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, called the coronavirus a priority for the country and called for the provision of vaccines in any form possible, whether imported or domestically produced. He, who had banned the import of American and British vaccines in January 2020, claimed that before the domestic vaccine was produced, foreign sellers were "unfairly" paying for the vaccine despite paying the price.

Khamenei, who uses the word “enemy” or “conspiracy” in most of his speeches, said on April 23, 2020, in response to the US offer to help Iran: “…When the Americans are accused of producing this virus, which sane person would accept help from this country? There is no trust in the Americans because they may send drugs that will make the virus more prevalent or persistent in Iran, or they may even send people as therapists to see how effective this virus, part of which is said to have been created specifically for Iran, is, and to supplement their information and increase their hostility.”

Source: DW