Houthi health minister mocked for saying coronavirus ‘vaccine will come from Yemen’

The Houthi militia’s health minister is being mocked for saying that the militants have been researching for a vaccine to cure the COVID-19 coronavirus amid accusations the Iran-backed militants are underreporting cases of infections and deaths in the country.

“With God’s permission and with the capabilities of doctors, colleagues, pharmacists, and colleagues in laboratories, long and extensive research are now being conducted, and God willing, a vaccine for coronavirus will come from Yemen,” Houthi health minister Taha al-Motawakel said during a press conference.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“There are extensive and promising research and studies promising with all that the word ‘promising’ entails. The treatment [for coronavirus] will come from Yemen,” al-Motawakel reiterated.

A fighter loyal to Yemen's Houthi rebels acting as security, looks on while wearing a face mask and latex gloves and slinging a Kalashnikov assault rifle as volunteers part of a community-led initiative to prevent the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus disease gather in Yemen's capital Sanaa on May 14, 2020. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi militants have so far only reported four cases as a result of coronavirus, including one fatality. An AFP tally, however, placed the figures at 283 cases of infections and 65 deaths.

Read the latest coronavirus updates in our dedicated section.

Al-Motawakel was criticized for boasted about his group's discreet policy regarding the spread of the coronavirus outbreak in Yemen, saying the militants were dealing with patients “out of care for their human rights and not as stock market figures that the media are racing to address.”

Read more:

Houthi ‘consultant’ dies from coronavirus after saying ‘better to die on battlefield’

Watch: Houthis say they will shoot and kill people with COVID-19 coronavirus

Coronavirus: Yemen’s Houthis report first coronavirus case, a death in Sanaa hotel

The Houthis last Thursday accused the World Health Organization of sending “inaccurate” and deficient tests, and said it would reveal the results in the coming days.

Users online drew comparisons to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the main backers of the Houthis in Yemen, who last month said they unveiled a new device which could detect coronavirus remotely and without blood tests.