Iran's Covid-19 Vaccine: Testing to Begin on Longest Night of the Year

Human Testing of an Iranian Coronavirus Vaccine to Start on December 21

On Tuesday, December 15, the terms “coronavirus vaccine”, “Yalda [winter solstice] gatherings” and “the likelihood of increase in the number infections as a result of the increase in air pollution” were among the top keywords in the Iranian news about the coronavirus pandemic.

According to figures published by the Ministry of Health, the daily death toll from coronavirus is now half of what it used to be just a few weeks ago, although these figures only include those who have tested positive and not cases where transmission is occurring but has not been measured. Health official are nevertheless concerned about the next coronavirus surge.

Iranians traditionally celebrate Yalda, the night of the winter solstice and the longest night in the year in the northern hemisphere, by gathering with family and close friends. This year Yalda falls on December 21 and such get-togethers can become coronavirus super-spreader events.

News on an Iranian Vaccine

Every day one or another health official also mentions developments regarding an Iranian vaccine. The latest came from Dr. Minoo Moharez, the lead epidemiologist in the development of a domestic vaccine and a member of the National Coronavirus Taskforce’s Scientific Committee.

“According to the officials in charge, the human testing phase of this vaccine will start on December 21 by testing on 56 to 60 people,” Dr. Moharez said. “The age of these individuals ranges from 18 to 50, and after vaccinations they will remain in quarantine so that they will not come into contact with the virus. The volunteers will receive a small gratuity. This vaccine does not produce complications because it has been made from a weakened strain of virus.”

According to her, if the first phase of human testing is successful then the vaccine will be tested on more subjects; if this second phase shows promising results, after roughly two or three weeks the vaccine will be released for general use. Dr. Moharez, however, warned that this vaccine must not be used on children and pregnant women.

Tehran: Red or Orange?

On December 6 and 7, Tehran witnessed a surge in coronavirus infections and fatalities, according to Anooshirvan Mohseni Bandpey, governor of Tehran province. In those two days, around 6,700 people were hospitalized each day and up to 190 patients died each day. According to the governor, the number of new daily hospitalizations has now fallen by almost 50 percent, to 3,300 per day and, on December 13, 70 individuals died in Tehran.

“Unfortunately, the [heavy] crowds in Tehran in recent days indicate that we might have another surge coming and we have informed the [National Coronavirus Taskforce] that Tehran’s orange state of alert is the same as the red state of alert in other cities, and if we are negligent we will be facing a situation far worse than this,” Mohseni Bandpey said. Regarding fining those who refuse to wear masks, Mohseni Bandpey said that, as of now, 8,000 people who have gone to public places without masks had been identified and their identities had been reported to the police.

In other news from Tehran, Abdolreza Fouladvand, director-general of the city of Tehran’s Education Bureau, reported that in the past 10 months, since the coronavirus outbreak in Iran, more than 20 teachers had lost their lives to Covid-19.

Air Pollution Contributes to Flu and Coronavirus Infections

“Air pollution has been identified across the world as the fourth cause of early deaths, after high blood pressure, smoking and malnutrition, and the second cause of death apart from non-contagious diseases after smoking,” said Dr. Sima Sadat Lari, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health. “Individuals with underlying diseases who live in areas with high air pollution are more at risk of coronavirus infections and, according to studies conducted, air pollution is one of the factors in spreading diseases such as flu and coronavirus.” When the air pollution is high, she said, one of the best ways to avoid pollutants is to stay at home, and this is as important as social distancing because of the coronavirus. She asked people to wear masks when they leave home and, when the air is polluted, to avoid walking or jogging in parks or in open spaces. Even at home, she said, people must be less active when the air is polluted.

Provinces Round-up

In Gilan, 567 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized across the province, of whom around 20 percent were in ICUs, reported Masoud Norouzi, vice president of Gilan University of Medical Sciences. He warned that “young and healthy coronavirus cases might show no symptoms ... but they can be carriers of the virus to a high degree.” He also warned against gatherings on Yalda.

In the past 24 hours, 105 new Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in Gilan, bringing the total number of coronavirus hospitalizations in the province 567.

The situation in Alborz has improved and is currently stable, nevertheless worries about Yalda gatherings persist, said Mehrdad Babaei, spokesman for Alborz University of Medical Sciences. According to him, in the past eight days the number of patients with coronavirus patients who visited hospitals has declined.

Currently, 498 suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases are hospitalized across Alborz. In the past 24 hours, 10 coronavirus patients died and the death toll in the province reached 2,481 people.

In the past 24 hours 62 new patients with Covid-19 symptoms were hospitalized in Kermanshah and 73 were discharged after recovery. Currently 307 coronavirus patients are hospitalized across the province. Of this number, 95 are being treated at ICUs and 25 of them are connected to ventilators. With the death of another nine patients in the past 24 hours, the Covid-19 death toll in the province reached 1,383.

In the past 24 hours, for the first time in many months, nobody died from coronavirus in Kurdistan, reported Dr. Farzin Rezaei, president of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. With the hospitalization of 106 new Covid-19 patients in the past 24 hours, the number of hospitalizations across the province reached 272, of whom 68 are being treated at ICUs.

Since the outbreak of coronavirus, 999 people have died from the virus in Kurdistan. The provincial capital of Sanandaj, with 338 deaths, has had the highest number of fatalities in the province.

Iran’s Latest Coronavirus Statistics

In her daily briefing for December 15, health ministry’s spokeswoman Dr. Sima Sadat Lari announced the official coronavirus statistics for the past 24 hours:

Dr. Lari reported that currently 12 cities are in a red state of alert, 288 are orange and 148 are yellow.