Letup in Infections Does Not Mean End of Pandemic

Despite the sharp drop in Covid cases, hospitalizations and mortalities, it is too soon to claim that the outbreak has ended in Iran, a member of the national science committee against the coronavirus, Mehrdad Haqazali, said on Friday.
“If deaths remain on a downward trend for eight weeks, then we can say the pandemic has ended,” he was quoted as saying by ISNA.
Over the past few weeks, Iran’s tally of infections and fatalities has been steadily declining. On Saturday, deaths were down to a single-digit figure, only eight, and 270 cases were reported by the Health Ministry from throughout the country. 
“Overnight deaths have remained under 20 over the past two weeks,” Haqazali noted, pointing to the significant effect of vaccination on the disease. 
Iran has administered more than 149 million Covid-19 vaccine shots to its population of 85 million people. Some 64.3 million have been given the first dose, 57.6 million the second shot and 27.1 million the third booster dose. 
The timing of the national vaccination campaign also played a huge rule in stemming the spread of the contagion. The inoculations, carried out shortly before the New Year holidays, was instrumental in containing a new wave despite public gatherings and travels. 
Haqazali said, “Under the current circumstances, we’ve passed the peak but this in no way means we can ease safety measures.”
The health official encouraged the public to stay vigilant, get a vaccine and continue to follow social distancing rules as the global pandemic cannot end only in one country. 
Several nations across the world, including China and India, have reported a surge in cases in the past few weeks.
The Health Ministry is giving out a fourth shot of a coronavirus vaccine to healthcare personnel and the immunocompromised to protect those most vulnerable to the respiratory illness.