Sharp Rise Seen in Number of Respiratory Patients 

Deputy Health Minister Saeed Karimi announced on Monday that the number of patient visits to clinics and hospitals complaining of respiratory problems have spiked by 70% in the past two weeks. 
“Nearly 30,000 patients pay a visit to clinics on a daily basis and 1,200-1400 are hospitalized,” Karimi was quoted as saying by IRNA. 
Compared to a week earlier, patients exhibiting respiratory symptoms have dramatically increased by 30%. 
“Some 50% of samples taken from 2,000 patients tested positive for influenza,” Karimi said, adding that less than 10% of Covid tests return positive, showing that the coronavirus pandemic was “not concerning” in the country for now. 
The health official said influenza symptoms include severe body ache, fever and cough and can sometimes occur with digestive symptoms such as nausea.
Iran has been distributing influenza vaccines throughout the country to elevate immunity levels in at-risk groups, such as the elderly, pregnant women and those with pre-existing health conditions. 
Karimi explained, “The influenza strains currently spreading in society are the old ones, the H1N1 and H3N2.”
According to him, following coronavirus, health protocols had helped keep influenza transmission rates low but with widespread disregard for safety measures, the flu had once again taken hold in the northern hemisphere. 
Health Minister Bahram Einollahi also said on Tuesday that the influenza epidemic had “unexpectedly” begun since early October with the start of the new academic year and the reopening of schools and universities. 
“Due to the rise in influenza patients, we experienced a shortage of antibiotics,” he added. 
Certain schools were closed down in northwestern provinces to tackle the spread of flu. 

Booster Shots 

Karimi stated that immunity levels drop six months after Covid vaccination and advised everyone to get a booster shot if more than six months had passed since the previous dose. 
“Gradually, Covid-19 will become similar to influenza where we get vaccinated once every year,” he said. 
Experts suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic could peak again before the end of autumn but case numbers have been relatively stable in the past month. 
On Tuesday, 222 new Covid infections were identified and seven more patients died from the contagion. 
The World Health Organization encouraged the public to administer vaccines for both flu and Covid, pointing out that the most vulnerable groups were most exposed to severe symptoms and deaths.