'Warning for all of us': Iran President Rouhani warns of 'fourth wave' as COVID cases rise

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday warned against a "fourth wave" of COVID-19 pandemic as new cases in certain areas across the country recorded a surge. Rouhani, during a televised speech on Saturday, said that some regions in the southwestern province of Khuzestan are now under the red zone, meaning the country is moving towards the fourth wave. This comes three days after Iran began its COVID-19 vaccination programme. 

Read: Hassan Rouhani Slams Biden Admin's Iran Policy; 'No Different From Trump's'

Iran is one of the worst affected nations in the world with more than 1.5 million COVID-19 cases and over 58,800 deaths so far. Although the daily infection rate in Iran has dropped from its peak in November, it is still relatively high and poses a significant risk to the health infrastructure. Iran registered a little over 7,000 new cases on Thursday, lower than its peak of more than 13,000 daily cases in December. 

Read: Iran Produces Uranium Metal In Latest Breach Of 2015 Nuclear Deal: IAEA

Iran's vaccination drive

Iran began its COVID-19 inoculation programme on Tuesday with Russia's Sputnik-V vaccine. Iran on Friday received 1,00,000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine from Russia ahead of schedule. Earlier last week, Iran received the first batch of 10,000 doses from Russia to start the vaccination programme. According to Our World in Data, Iran has administered 3,000 doses of vaccine so far. Iran has also secured vaccine doses from AstraZeneca/Oxford through the World Health Organisation's (WHO) COVXIN initiative. 

Read: Iran Starts COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign With Russian Sputnik V Jabs

Meanwhile, Iran is developing its own COVID-19 vaccines, the trial for one of which began last week. Iran concluded the first phase of the human trial for its another vaccine called COVIran Barekat last Saturday. The vaccines have been developed by Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute (RVSRI).

Read: Iran To Begin Mass COVID-19 Inoculation Soon, Assures Islamic Republic's Health Ministry