Desperate for vaccines amid surge, Iranians flock to Armenia

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I just want her to get the jab as soon as possible,” said Ahmad Reza Bagheri, a 23-year-old jeweler at a bus stop in Tehran gesturing to his diabetic mother who he was joining on the winding 20-hour road trip to Armenia's capital, Yerevan Bagheri's uncle had already received his first dose in the city and would soon get his second. “I can't wait such a long time for vaccination," said Ali Saeedi, a 39-year-old garment trader also waiting to embark on the journey at a Tehran bus station. The surge of Iranians has inundated Armenia’s coronavirus testing centers, leaving scores stranded in the buffer zone, Iranian semiofficial ILNA news agency reported, with several fainting from the heat. More broadly, she added, vaccination vacations, like all travel in a time of contagious virus variants, carries “unintended consequences" and increases “the possibility of disease transmission.” A fairer alternative, she noted, would be for Armenia to transfer its surplus doses to the international COVAX initiative.