Red alarms about sixth wave of COVID-19 in Iran, dominated by Omicron, get louder by the day. Secretary of Scientific Committee at National COVID-19 Task Force warned about Omicron wave in the next few weeks. Dr. Jama’ati emphasized on children 5-11 vaccination and said, “if schools are opened but these kids are not vaccinated, considering low number of NICU beds in the country, a catastrophe could ensue.” He added 40-50million more people must receive their 3rd dose to prevent Omicron wave. He asked authorities to postpone reopening of schools and universities for at least 3-4 weeks.
Dr. Tabarsi, head of infectious-disease ward at Masih Daneshvari hospital in Tehran, forewarned that Omicron’s threat is real and “is very close to us!” He reiterated Jama’ati’s point that in 2-3 weeks there could be another wave in Iran. He asked the government to reduce the gap between the 2nd and 3rd dose to 1 month. He repeated his previous demand for increasing the tests. Dr. Sarmast of Ahvaz Medical University also sounded the alarm for an outbreak in Khuzestan. Fars reported increasing number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Deputy Head of Bushehr Medical University announced 500 Omicron in Iran have been confirmed while 9 are from Bushehr. Kermanshah is on the same boat with a rise in hospitalizations. Deputy Head of Saveh Medical University estimated 15% of all cases are Omicron.
Meanwhile, the propaganda and fatally flawed “coloring” system of the regime has been the sole source of decisions across Iran. Qazvin canceled remote working because “all its cities are blue!” Khorasan Razavi, where Mashhad is the capital with spike in cases and hospitalizations, continues to hold classes and exams in-person.
Furthermore, Baktash Abtin’s murder, who was deprived of medical care while diagnosed with COVID-19 in prison as a political prisoner, has sparked new concerns over horrifying condition of political prisoners in Islamic Republic. PenAmerica also issued a statement demanding the regime to respect human rights and freedom of speech. They called his death “utterly preventable.”
On the other hand, air pollution shuts down elementary schools in Tehran for 2 days, Monday and Tuesday. The poor air quality in metropolitan areas of Iran has been an additional problem for all age groups, especially amid COVID-19 crisis.
While experts and officials insist people should receive their 3rd dose of vaccination as soon as possible, less people are interested in the vaccines used in Iran. According to official data, since February 9, only 10,263,772 (12.21% of Iran population) have received 3 doses of these vaccines. The majority of shots used in Iran are the ineffective Sinopharm and failed COVIran Barekat. WHO recommends 3 doses of Sinopharm to be effective against Delta but studies have found the vaccine ineffective against Omicron. It is worth mentioning, Khamenei banned US and UK made vaccines in January to promote his own foundation’s COVIran Barekat. In a recent report, discrepancies indicate that some of the imported vaccines may have been sent for the terrorist group, Hezbollah. Dr. Zahraei of Ministry of Health admitted the vaccination started late in Iran. He also claimed more “domestic” shots will be introduced to the basket soon.
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 31 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 1,480 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Number of daily tests performed in the country continue to decline despite experts advice to have a more active case finding. Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 and Civil Registration Organization data show more than 316,000 have died of the disease since February 2020. Graphs illustrate the ongoing crisis in Iran and forming of the new wave.
R0: 1.48
Total: 6,206,405 (+1,480)
Dead: 131,878 (+31)
Recovered: 6,051,812
Critical: 1,775 (-114)
Active Cases: 22,715 (+120)
Total Tests: 42,826,837
Cover: Maysam Maleki
