Sixth Peak in COVID-19 Lurking ahead for Iranians

According to the news website, www.iribnews.ir ,  upwards of 47.7 million citizens have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and over 22.8 million have got their second-dose jabs That means at least 50 million Iranians need to receive the second-dose vaccination in order for the nation to reach a point of collective security.

This is while the trend of observing health protocols, namely wearing masks, is on the decline as over half of the country’s population now venture into public places without wearing masks.

Moreover, the National Coronavirus Task Force is to lift Covid restrictions like in the past and replace them with a smart plan.

All these ambiguities can make the situation difficult when the sixth surge in coronavirus infections and deaths hits. 

As we remember, we had several tough and tragic months during the fifth peak in the disease.

The number of cases and fatalities during the fifth wave was so high that we now show no reaction to the deaths of some 100 coronavirus patients per day and regard it as normal. This comes as there was talk of pushing the daily COVID-19 deaths to below 50.

Epidemiologist Masoud Younesian says the nation has been harmed whenever it has regarded the pandemic as something ordinary.  

“Vaccination is necessary to prevent infection with coronavirus, but it is not sufficient,” he says. 

“We’d better not lift the restrictions hastily because we need some time until most of the population receive both doses of the vaccine,” he adds.

Meanwhile Health Minsiter Bahram Einollahi says the necessary measures have been adopted to deal with a possible sixth peak in Covid-19 in the country.

“We hope with the huge amount of the vaccine administered and thanks to people observing health protocols, the next peak will be less severe than the previous one,” he explains.

“[Medical] personnel, doctors, nurses and scientific committees are on alert, and given the experience we have gained in the past, there are no worries as far as treatment is concerned,” he says.