YEREVAN — Hundreds of Iranians visiting Armenia to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are spending nights on streets in Yerevan waiting in long lines that have formed around outdoor vaccination centers.

They are keen to get free shots offered to not only Armenian citizens and residents but also foreign visitors. The mostly young people say that in Iran priority is given to elderly citizens and that they have to wait for inoculation for weeks and even months.

The influx began about two weeks ago, resulting in long lines at state policlinics and other vaccination centers across the Armenian capital. This led the Armenian Ministry of Health to restrict non-resident foreigners’ access to those facilities on July 8.

Foreigners who do not have Armenian residency permits have since been able to get vaccinated only at mobile sites set up in shopping malls and two major streets in downtown Yerevan. Each of those sites is allowed to inoculate no more than 50 foreign visitors a day.

Another restriction that will take effect on Thursday will make only those foreigners who have spent at least 10 days in Armenia eligible for a coronavirus vaccine.

The queues have been particularly long outside one such facility opened on Northern Avenue, the city’s main pedestrian boulevard. Hundreds of Iranian nationals have spent several nights there.

Most of them refused to be interviewed on camera on Tuesday. Those who agreed to talk to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service criticized the restrictions imposed by the Armenian authorities.

“The Armenian government had promised that all tourists can be vaccinated here,” complained one woman who identified herself as Shohre. “I’m now having a serious problem: they vaccinate no more than 50 people a day and I don’t know when it will be my turn.”

“We have been registered and I’m 400th on the waiting list,” she said. “I suffer from a heart disease and the coronavirus could be fatal for me. I will try to spend another night here. Maybe I will get my turn.”

An Iranian man, who has spent two nights on the street, worried that he may not make it to the front of the line by Tuesday evening despite being 20th on the list. “If I don’t get a vaccine today it will mean that they pay bribes to cut the line,” claimed the 30-year-old Puya, who arrived in Armenia with five other compatriots.

Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan visited the Northern Avenue site later in the day. “This demonstrates just how desirable and important the vaccination is,” she said, pointing to the long queue contrasting with many Armenians’ mistrust of coronavirus jabs.

According to the Ministry of Health, only about 112,000 people in Armenia making up less than 4 percent of the country’s population received one or two doses of vaccines as of Tuesday morning. The ministry did not specify how many of them are non-resident foreigners.

“In the last 20 days we have had a sharp increase in the daily number of inoculations,” Avanesyan told reporters. “I’m talking about figures relating to our citizens.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up for Our Newsletters

Get notified of the latest updates from MassisPost.

You May Also Like

Merdinian 35th Anniversary Celebration Honors Harold & Frances Demirjian

By Joyce Abdulian SHERMAN OAKS, CA – The C&E Merdinian Armenian Evangelical…
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Governor Schwarzenegger Commemorates 2010 Anniversary of Armenian Independence

Continuing his annual tradition California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a message…

Wikileaks Reveal Azerbaijan Influencing American Electoral Politics

WASHINGTON, DC — As concerns are raised of Russia attempting to influence…

AEBU Accepting Applications for Scholarship

PASADENA, CA – The Armenian Educational Benevolent Union (AEBU) is pleased to…