The alarms for the sixth wave keep getting louder and louder. Member of Scientific Committee at the National COVID-19 Task Force said there will be increasing number of cases in the coming days but hoped it would not be as bad the fifth wave. Dr. Tabarsi also pointed out the reasons for the upcoming wave as Arbaeen, Safar mourning gatherings and travelings. Ahvaz Health Network reported 20% positivity rate among 1,000 specimens on a daily basis. Dr. Ahmadi-Baloutki warned the sixth wave would be here in the next few days. Dr. Mehrabian of Gilan Medical University reiterated the next wave is on the horizon. Head of Mazandaran Medical University sounded the alarm for the sixth wave as well.
Following his colleagues, Dr. Naji criticized the “coloring map” system and asked the Ministry of Health to design a new system showing the risk level in cities across the country. He said the current system which is based on the number and condition of hospitalizations per 100k, “makes us react to the condition with weeks of delay!” The “coloring map” came into effect in March 2020 and has gone through some minor changes but has always been deemed useless, even though it has been a great tool for the Islamic Republic’s media and propaganda network.
The national average vaccination rate for students 12-17 years old remains around 32% using the unapproved Chinese Sinopharm! In the meantime, another unapproved vaccine, PastoCoVac is added to the basket for the age range. The collaborative product of Cuba and Islamic Republic has 3 doses and its results for the third phase of clinical trial have not been published yet. However, that does not stop the regime officials from insisting that schools must reopen from mid-November.
On the other hand, the Islamic Republic Ministry of Health official claims 60% of eligible population will be fully vaccinated, with 2 doses, in 1 month! According to official data, since February 9, total of 68,357,307 shots have been administered.
The Ministry of Health Spokesperson claimed 194 have died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours and 12,298 tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Professor of Epidemiology at Tehran University believes these numbers must be multiplied by 7 and Civil Registration Organization data show more than 294,000 have died of the disease since February 2020.
R0: 2.10
Total: 5,742,083 (+12,298)
Dead: 123,275 (+194)
Recovered: 5,264,775
Critical: 5,026 (-98)
Active Cases: 354,033 (-2,713)
Total Tests: 33,563,390
Cover: Meysam Maleki
