"So far, Barakat vaccine has been protecting against all Corona variants up to the Delta. The immunization of this vaccine against all variants was above 80%, while it caused up to 70% protection against Delta.”
Dr. Asghar Abdoli, a medical virologist and vaccine technician for Co Iran Barakat, had an interview with "Scientific Dialogue" program about the effectiveness of Iranian vaccines against new variants of the Corona virus.
Regarding the new variants, Abdoli stated; “One of the problems with respiratory viruses is the development of different variants of the virus, which is excessively dangerous and reduces the effectiveness of the vaccine.”
He explained that in the case of the Barakat vaccine, clinical phases 1 to 3 have been fully performed on 18- to 75-year-olds, and also on 12 to 18-year-olds; “So far the Barakat vaccine has protected against all emerging variants up to the Delta. The immunization of this vaccine against other variants was above 80%, while it caused up to 70% protection against Delta. This vaccine produces much higher immunogenicity compared with Sinopharm and Bharat.”
The medical virologist then mentioned; “According to studies, the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine against Delta is reported to be 51%, 39% and 88%; thus regarding the effectiveness of vaccines, geographical region, health management, economic livelihood and the peak’s number should be taken into consideration.”
He announced that in its third clinical phase against Delta variant, Barakat was proved effective; “At this peak, all vaccines produced about 50% immunity, and so did Barakat, and it prevented hospitalization over 80%.”
In his interview with Radio Goftogoo, Abdoli stressed that in order to eradicate the new variants of Corona, at least 70% of the world's population needs to be vaccinated at the same time; “For new-generation vaccines, we need to look at Omicron, and for the best results, the booster should be updated based on new variants.”
The Barakat vaccine technician then addressed the officials and said; “You shouldn’t look at biotechnology and basic sciences intermittently, and you have to properly invest in these field.”
He also pointed that domestic investors need to be trusted; “There should be a synergistic attitude between researchers and the country's elite.”
Abdoli advised people to get vaccinated since it improves the community’s health; “In the case of boosters, those who received two doses of AstraZeneca should get another vaccine. Besides, booster doses should be based on corona variants.
By Farzaneh Moradi
