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The first vial of this vaccine was produced two years ago, and with the injection of the first vial of this vaccine, this plan has entered clinical trials, ISNA reported.

For the production of the vaccine, processes such as vaccine design, genetic engineering (DNA structures), mRNA production and purification, formulation, and quality control have been implemented.

Conducting pre-clinical studies on rats and monkeys, obtaining relevant approvals and licenses, and conducting human clinical studies in three phases are among the measures taken in the trial phase.

Currently, among the vaccine platforms, the four models of inactivated virus, recombinant, vaccines based on adenovirus vector, and mRNA are preferred over others.

The results of the preclinical studies showed that by injecting this type of vaccine, the amount of neutralizing antibodies is greater than in other types of vaccines.

The durability of the antibody is also quite significant. In this way, more effectiveness of this type of vaccine in preventing the infection of COVID-19 will be expected.

Iran is the sixth country in the world and the first country in West Asia to gain the ability to produce the Coronavirus vaccine.

The country has been able to reduce the COVID mortalities from 700 cases to less than 10, and this successful experience of the Islamic Republic was made known in the seventy-fifth session of the World Health Assembly, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said in May 2022.

Considering those five coronavirus vaccines that have so far been produced domestically, Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, the former head of the Food and Drug Administration, said in June 2021 that Iran is one of the few countries that has all vaccine production platforms.

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Streptococcus pneumonia is an encapsulated bacteria with a polysaccharide capsule an essential factor in virulence. About 90 distinct pneumococcal serotypes have been identified throughout the world, with a small number of these serotypes accounting for most diseases in infants. Pneumococci are transmitted by direct contact with respiratory secretions from patients and healthy carriers.

Infants and children in Iran are currently vaccinated against BCG, polio, hepatitis B, measles, rubella, and mumps (MMR).Stating that there are 2 types of vaccines against pneumococcal bacteria, he said that type one is a polysaccharide, which has been used in the world for years. Another type of conjugate vaccine is that these vaccines can be injected at young ages under two years, which also has good immunogenicity.

The vaccines that are currently available in the market of Iran and the world are 10 and 13 pneumococcal vaccines, which cover 10 and 13 common serotypes of bacteria, he said.

Three types of pneumococcal vaccines have been imported this year and are available in the pharmaceutical market of the country, he further added, ISNA reported on Tuesday.

He went on to note that in the budget bill of the Iranian calendar year 1397 (March 2018- March 2019), with the approval of the Majlis (Iranian Parliament), $100 million were approved to spend on the production of two pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines, which will be added to the country’s children’s vaccination program.

However, the domestic production of these two vaccines has not yet been completed, he lamented, highlighting that it is planned to provide the necessary fund to mass produce the two vaccines by the next Iranian calendar year (beginning March 2023) and inoculate one-year-old children and younger.

Infection by rotaviruses is also one of the major causes of childhood diarrhea with an associated high mortality rate (440,000 deaths/year) and is responsible for 25 million medical visits and 2 million hospitalizations every year, especially during the cold season.

The prevalence of rotavirus infections in Iran has been estimated as 30 -50 percent while the mean prevalence is reported to be 39.9 percent. According to a WHO report, in Iran, 42 percent of gastroenteritis are caused by rotaviruses which are estimated to have inflicted approximately 2000 and 270 deaths in 2008 and 2013, respectively.

In June 2021, the Pasteur Institute of Iran and Indian Bharat Biotech inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to transfer technical knowledge of the rotavirus vaccine, IRNA reported.

In December 2021, the Pasteur Institute announced the development of rotavirus and pneumococcus vaccines. However, it has not yet been industrialized.

BCG, polio, hepatitis B, measles, rubella, and mumps (MMR) vaccines are among the vaccines in the general vaccination package and are injected into infants and children in Iran.

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Considering the return of Hajj and Arbaeen pilgrims and the reopening of schools and universities, it is necessary to pay special attention to the continued use of masks and compliance with the health guidelines, especially in high-risk groups, and to strengthen border health care and the cooperation of relevant agencies in timely detection of the arrival of new strains, deputy health minister Kamal Heydari wrote in the letter, emphasizing the recommendation to receive a booster dose for all age groups, more than six months have passed since their last vaccination.

COVID-19 infections significantly increase

It has been about a week that the number of outpatient cases has significantly increased again, and it seems that a new wave is happening in the country, Payam Tabarsi, a member of the scientific committee of coronavirus control, has said.

The national scientific committee to deal with coronavirus has said that omicron BA4 and BA5 variants may soon dominate the country.It seems that outpatient cases increase will show its effect on death and hospitalization in two to three weeks. Currently, it is strongly recommended to follow health protocols and inject vaccines by those who have not been vaccinated yet. Because the vaccine really reduces the severity of the disease, he suggested.

Masoud Younesian, secretary of the epidemiology and research committee of the national scientific committee to deal with coronavirus, has said that omicron BA4 and BA5 variants may soon dominate the country.

According to the official statistics, about 20 to 25 percent of eligible people in the society did not inject the coronavirus vaccine at all, and between 30 to 35 percent only injected a dose of the vaccine, who is called the vulnerable population.

In the first week of the Iranian calendar month of Tir which began on June 25, COVID-19 hospitalizations and outpatients have tripled in the country.

Also, unfortunately, a total of 11 patients died last week. Based on this, the total number of deaths from this disease has reached 141,390 people.

So far, about 150 million doses of vaccine have been injected into the Iranian population and the coverage of vaccination in the total population is about 75 percent, he highlighted.

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To eradicate polio, the oral vaccination plan will be implemented in two phases. The first phase started on May 7 and will continue until May 10, and the second phase will run from June 11 to 13, Mohammad Reza Sarbazi, director of the department of disease prevention and control of the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, said.

Due to the transmission of poliovirus in Asia and Africa and the indigenous virus in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it is necessary to carry out additional annual immunization operations to maintain polio-free, he explained.

In this large-scale operation, Iranian children under the age of five and foreign immigrants will be inoculated through door-to-door visits in high-risk areas across the country, he further stated.

In this plan, all children aged 5 years or younger in high-risk areas, regardless of previous immunization history, will receive two drops of oral vaccine and will repeat by four to six weeks.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

Over the last decade, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) made steady progress on the path to eradication. Wild poliovirus types 2 and 3 (WPV2 and WPV3) were declared eradicated in 2015 and 2019, respectively; the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region was declared free of poliovirus in 2014; and most recently, the WHO African Region was certified free of wild poliovirus (WPV) in August 2020. However, the final steps towards eradication have proven the most difficult.

Measles outbreak in neighboring countries

Concerns about the spread of measles in the country are growing as the Afghan population grows, Mohsen Zahraei, head of the department of preventable diseases with vaccines of the Ministry of Health, also said.

Measles mostly infects children under the age of 10, and all families need to get their children vaccinated between the ages of 12 to 18 months, he said, adding that vaccination will be free of charge.

The measles vaccination program in Iran started in 1984 when 34 percent of the population was vaccinated in the first year and 90 to 95 percent of the population after 6 years. Also in 2003, 33 million people were vaccinated with a national program to eradicate measles in the country.

“We managed to minimize the measles incidence rate in three years and increase vaccination coverage to 95 to 98 percent. In 2019, the World Health Organization approved the elimination of measles and rubella in Iran,” he noted.

According to him, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, among the 22 countries, only three countries of Bahrain, Oman, and Iran, have succeeded in receiving this approval, which is a sign of health indicators promotion that plays an important role in tourist arrivals and development process.

However, we are witnessing measles outbreaks in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.

“We have stepped up our efforts to maintain the achievement of measles elimination by identifying 3,000 cases of suspected measles in one month, and by early last week, 120 positive cases of measles had been recorded, which is also increasing.

Some 64 percent of the infected people are Afghans, 3 percent are Pakistanis and the rest are Iranians. The disease causes severe symptoms in people with malnutrition, including blindness, pneumonia, and brain infection.

The disease is much more contagious than coronavirus, and kills one to five percent of the patients,” he explained.

Measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred approximately every 2–3 years and measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year.

More than 140,000 people died from measles in 2018 – mostly children under the age of 5 years, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.

Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family and it is normally passed through direct contact and through the air. The virus infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body. Measles is a human disease and is not known to occur in animals.

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President Raisi expressed his satisfaction with the report on the reduction of new cases during the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic at a meeting of the National Task Force Against Coronavirus before noon on Saturday and said, “Of course, this should not lead to the weakening of observing health protocols”.

The President called on all people, guilds and employees to continue to strictly and completely observe health protocols, and especially to refrain from holding and attending gatherings, and added, “The related agencies should seriously and effectively follow the implementation of health protocols”.

He went on to point out some high-risk areas for coronavirus outbreak and said, “One of the most dangerous areas for coronavirus outbreak is public transportation, and therefore the relevant authorities are pursuing the strict implementation of protocols, including in airlines, and observing the 60-percent capacity in flights”.

Referring to the report presented at the meeting on the effectiveness of fines for non-compliance with health protocols, he stated, “These fines need to be reviewed in order to increase their deterrent effects and improve attention to the guidelines”.

In another part of his speech, the President pointed out the importance of research on the effects and social and psychological effects of corona, saying, “The study of corona effects is very important for people in personal and social dimensions and supports our better performance and decisions in the future”.

Referring to the report on traditional medicine presented at the meeting, Raisi called for wise mind-set regarding this issue in scientific and academic circles as examples of conflict of opinion and open-mindedness and called on medical universities and the Ministry of Health to provide space for specialists.

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Given that the country’s need is met in terms of vaccination, the Ministry of Health approved to export 20 percent of domestically produced vaccines, Kamal Heydari, the deputy health minister, said.

“We intend to use domestic products in the reminder dose and measures have been taken in this regard,” he stated, adding, homegrown vaccines have good immunogenicity and efficacy to be booster doses.

Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has announced on Sunday that from now on no coronavirus vaccines will be imported to the country, emphasizing that the priority is given to domestic products.

Homegrown vaccines

According to the Food and Drug Administration, 14 vaccines are being domestically developed in the country which are in different study phases.

Made by researchers at the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam, COVIRAN BAREKAT was unveiled on December 29, 2020, and received the license for public use on June 14.

It proved effective against Indian strain, according to Hojjat Niki-Maleki, head of the information center of Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam.

Developed by the Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Razi Cov Pars is the second Iranian-made vaccine that started the clinical trial on February 27.

Fakhra vaccine, the third domestically-developed COVID-19 vaccine, was unveiled and started the clinical trial on March 16.

Lately, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use license for two other domestic vaccines of Razi Cov Pars and Fakhra.

The Iranian-Australian Spikogen vaccine and Pastu Covac, developed jointly by the Pasteur Institute of Iran and Cuba’s Finlay Vaccine Institute, are other homegrown vaccines, which have received the emergency use license.

Iran is one of the few countries that has all vaccine production platforms, Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, former head of the Iranian Food and Drug Administration, said in June.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iran Jaffar Hussain said in September that the Organization was collecting the necessary information for the registration and certification of Iranian-made coronavirus vaccines.

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To date, 5,607,827 students aged 12 to 18 have received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine, she added, IRNA reported.

Eighty-five percent of students across the country have so far inoculated to gain immunity against the virus, she noted.

Around 6,305,000 students are studying in the country, who have received the Sinopharm vaccine, she also said.

With the decline in COVID-19 cases, schools are gradually reopened with a delay of one month or two under health protocols.

Students in tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades attended schools on Saturday, while students in seventh, eighth, and ninth grades, as well as elementary students, will go to school from the beginning of November 22.

All educational centers in Iran have been closed since February 2020.

In order for students to keep in touch with their studies, the Ministry of Education launched a homegrown mobile application on April 9, called SHAD, providing students with distance learning programs. More than 60 percent of students and 94 percent of teachers attended 64 percent of classes through the SHAD app, whose acronym in Persian translates as the Students Education Network.

Moreover, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) also began to broadcast televised educational programs on a daily basis after school closures.

Due to the vaccination and the reduction of transmission, schools are gradually reopened since September, and about 15 million students across the country can benefit from face-to-face education with strict observance of health protocols during school hours.

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Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting of representatives of COVID-19 vaccine donating countries with Iran’s health minister, Ambassador Giuseppe Perrone said that today was a good opportunity for international cooperation between Iran and other countries in the field of health cooperation while Italy has some joint projects with Iran in the medical and health fields, and expressed hope the co-operations would broaden more every day.

He added that during the meeting the participants talked about COVID vaccines and he is happy that Iran has progressed considerably in this field and expressed hope the donated COVID vaccines by Italy to Iran could help Tehran in its fight with Coronavirus and acceleration in vaccination in the country.

Perrone went on to say that as well as health, Italy has cooperation with Iran in the economic and trade fields and the country enjoys having an old and deep-rooted relation with Tehran. The diplomat added that Italy was the first country which has been on the list of trade and economic cooperation with Iran. He stated that although the trade volume has been declined due to the sanctions, he hopes these relations would be bolstered.

He noted that Italy has good relations with Iran in the field of education and they have had good interactions and exchanges in the field of art and culture though the exchange of students and experts and it will broaden in the future.

Perrone added that today it is a very crucial time that Iranian people like the Italians have suffered from the COVID-19 and expressed hope this cooperation can have its positive impact on the lives of the people.

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Also, the incidence of the disease in nursing homes has been reduced by 75 percent, and about 95 percent of the elderly in these centers have been vaccinated, and the rest have received the first dose, he explained.

Generally, the mortality rate among the elderly aging 60 or above in hospitals has reduced by 30 percent after vaccination, and this trend is declining, he noted, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The elderly constitute more than 10 percent of the country’s population, which is currently growing. In 2025, it will reach about 27 percent of the total population, which should increase the country’s infrastructure three times its current capacity.

Iran started mass vaccination with the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, with the priority given to medical staff, the elderly, and people with underlying diseases.

While Iran continues efforts to mass-produce local candidates, over 60 million doses of foreign vaccines have already been imported, while others are expected to be imported soon.

Vaccination up, mortality down

In July, delta variant mortality peaked and recorded over 700 daily deaths, but the increase of vaccination pace reduced the toll.

Today, more than one million doses of vaccine are injected daily in the country, and many age groups of the elderly, rare diseases patients, teachers, university professors, health professionals, veterans, etc. have been vaccinated and now the process of vaccinating students is underway.

Studies show that people who are not vaccinated are 4.5 times more likely to develop COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated, and 10 and 11 times more likely to be hospitalized and die, respectively.

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