Health Ministry Confirms Entry of Omicron Variant to Iran

With the identification of one confirmed case of Omicron coronavirus variant in Iran, experts warn about its spread within 17 days. Omicron possesses significantly greater transmissibility compared to previously known variants.

Following the confirmed identification of one case of Omicron coronavirus variant in Tehran, senior officials of the Health Ministry held an emergency meeting on Sunday morning, December 28 (December 19).

Mohammad Hashemi, head of the Health Ministry’s Public Relations Center, said that all participants in this meeting, after discussion and exchange of views, emphasized the necessity of adopting special measures, observing health protocols, and accelerating vaccination speed, particularly administering the third dose.

According to the ISNA news agency, the head of the Communicable Diseases Management Center at the Health Ministry said the confirmed case of Omicron variant infection belongs to a man who traveled to one of the neighboring countries and showed symptoms of infection in that country.

One or Two Suspicious Cases

Mohammadmehdi Goia did not specify which neighboring country and said there are one or two suspected cases of Omicron infection whose test results are still pending. Kamal Heidari, Deputy Health Minister, stated that the infected person entered Iran from the UAE.

The Omicron variant was first identified about a month ago in South Africa, and the number of daily COVID-19 cases in that country has increased twenty-fold since then.

Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization, announced last Tuesday that 77 countries have reported Omicron variant identification and warned that given the greater transmissibility of this variant, it is likely to reach most countries.

Exponential Increase in Cases

The organization announced yesterday, Saturday (December 18 / December 27), that the number of countries reporting Omicron variant cases has reached close to 90 countries, and the number of infected people in affected areas has doubled within one and a half to three days.

The World Health Organization had previously classified Omicron in the list of “concerning” variants, indicating its much greater transmissibility compared to previously known variants.

Britain and the Netherlands are among countries that, despite considerable public vaccination coverage, have recently faced exponential increases in Omicron cases and have imposed severe restrictions to contain it.

Omicron in Neighboring Countries

Among countries in the region and Iran’s neighbors, at least Turkey, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have announced the identification of cases of Omicron coronavirus variant.

Masoud Yunesian, Secretary of the Epidemiology Committee and Research of the National Scientific Committee for COVID-19 Control, said on Friday regarding the possibility of Omicron entering Iran: “We should assume that either this variant has already entered our country or will enter soon. We even saw this variant in countries that had adopted stricter measures. Therefore, it is wishful thinking to say that with the measures taken in our country, this virus will not enter Iran.”

The highly contagious Omicron variant reached Iran at a time when, from two days ago, the number of cities in red and orange status in the country has dropped to zero, and the status of 395 cities has become blue (low-risk).

Cities Turn Red Within 17 Days

A member of the National Scientific Committee for Coronavirus Control warns: “What exists regarding Omicron is that if Omicron enters, it becomes the dominant variant within 17 days, whereas this period was 100 days for Delta. If we detect one Omicron case in the country today, it is possible that within 17 days, the country will be overwhelmed with Omicron and the country’s blue map will immediately turn into a red map.”

According to ISNA, Payam Tabarsi, on the sidelines of the committee’s Sunday meeting, told reporters that now, in addition to observing health protocols, the important point is increasing the administration of the third dose of coronavirus vaccine (booster dose) to increase citizens’ immunity against Omicron infection.

Based on official statistics from the Health Ministry, from the beginning of vaccination until December 28, nearly 50 million and 341 thousand people have received two doses of vaccine, representing approximately 60 percent of the total population and about 70 percent of the population over 12 years old.

Slowdown in Vaccination Process

According to these statistics, so far only slightly more than 3 million and 772 thousand people have received the third dose of vaccine, and the total number of vaccines administered in the past 24 hours has not exceeded 420 thousand doses.

Coronavirus vaccination in Iran, after considerable delays in the first months from September to mid-November, had acceptable speed and reached an average of approximately one million doses per day.

In recent weeks, vaccination speed in Iran has decreased and reached approximately 400 thousand doses per day. In the second half of December, the number of vaccines administered daily has been less than this amount.

Apparently, the main reason for the decrease in vaccination statistics is the reluctance of some citizens to get vaccinated, and the cause cannot be vaccine shortage.

Customs statistics indicate that more than 150 million and 108 thousand vaccine doses have entered Iran through 87 stages, of which nearly 88 percent have been Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.

The Health Ministry’s Public Relations said that by Sunday (December 28), a total of nearly 113 million and 240 thousand vaccine doses have been administered throughout Iran, including booster doses.

Source: DW