Iran says 44 million fully vaccinated, half its population

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran says it has now fully vaccinated 44 million people, which is more than half of its population of 85 million. The health ministry made the announcement on Saturday, saying that the 44 million have received two doses of the vaccine. The country has recorded at least 128,000 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The ministry also announced that there have been more than 3,500 new cases of infections in the past 24 hours, as well as 118 deaths. Iran has been hit the worst by the pandemic in the Middle East.