"Although the effectiveness of vaccines may vary, the least they do is preventing serious illness and death," Ramezani said in an interview with Radio Goftogoo.
According to Radio Goftogoo news site, Dr. Amitis Ramezani, professor of Infectious Diseases Specialists Association, was interviewed by "Scientific Dialogue" about the fourth wave of Corona virus pandemic in Iran, the vaccination process and the Iranian Covid-19 vaccine.
Ramezani called vaccination the safest and the only way to control Corona pandemic; “Until we achieve proper vaccination that covers 70% of the population, we have to follow health protocols least we can prevent the transmission of the disease and decrease the speed of spread of the infection.”
"Inactivated vaccines don’t have a special technology: a good vaccine should be able to produce good antibodies and can further stimulate the cellular immune system," she noted.
The professor of Infectious Diseases Specialists Association reminded; “Right now there are vaccines with newer technology, such as the Russian vaccine, and also vaccines such as Pfizer which are recently developed for Covid-19.”
Ramezani stressed the need for a quick vaccination in the country; “The more individuals are vaccinated and the transmission chain is cut and the circulating virus is decreased, the less mutations the virus will have.”
She described the possible mutations of the virus as "worrying" and mentioned; “Besides questioning the effectiveness of the vaccine, Covid-19 mutations could cause re-infection for those who were previously affected by the virus.”
Professor of Infectious Diseases Specialists Association Then explained; “In spite of all the mutations this virus had, fortunately we couldn’t detect one that causes high rate of mortality in the patients. Even the British Covid, despite being 70% more transmissible, couldn’t be twice as deadly as the previous virus.”
Ramezani pointed out that “Barakat” and “Razi” vaccines reached the second phase of clinical trial; “if the clinical trial is successful, these vaccines will enter the third phase. The Cuban vaccine has also gone through the third clinical phase abroad and has been tested on thousands, and if it works in Iran we can use it in the country.”
She explained that the Cuban vaccine is based on protein technology, while Barakat vaccine is developed based on inactivated virus; “The technology and basis used in Razi vaccine is utterly different from these vaccines.”
The professor of Infectious Diseases Specialists Association said; “Although the effectiveness of vaccines may vary, the least they do is preventing serious illness and death.”
Emphasizing that only one system should be responsible for making decisions regarding vaccines, Ramezani said; “It is better that all these issues would be under the control of the Ministry of Health.”
The professor of Infectious Diseases Specialists Association urged people to avoid being in closed areas and unventilated spaces and to put on masks.
