An Iranian flag is pictured near in a missile during a military drill, with the participation of Iran’s Air Defense units, Iran October 19, 2020. Photo: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/Files

i24 News – Iran, the Middle Eastern country hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, announced Saturday that more than half of its population of 85,000,000 were inoculated against Covid.

Some 44,000,000 Iranians received two doses of the vaccine, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry also reported over 3,500 new virus cases in the past 24 hours, as well as 118 deaths.

Iran reported over 128,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, although both international observers and some local officials say the real toll is significantly higher.

The Islamic Republic generally uses the China-made Sinopharm vaccine, though the Russia’s Sputnik-V and the vaccine made by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca are also in use.

In June, Iran also officially started rolling out its domestically produced COVIran Barekat vaccine, without publishing data on its safety or efficacy. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received the homemade vaccine on state TV and encouraged the public to follow suit.