ABSTRACT
Background: Although vaccination coverage against a disease is not exactly the same as community immunity against that disease, it is undoubtedly directly related to it and provides an estimate of the coherence and efficacy of community health infrastructure. Aims: To evaluate the vaccination coverage of children throughout the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2019. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A probability proportional to size cluster sampling method was used and the vaccination data of 8682 children aged 24–35 months were collected in the form of 1447 clusters, each comprising six participants. Only valid data, including vaccination card or electronic health files, were used. The results were reported in the form of descriptive tables. Results: Overall, 97.82% of Iranian participants (8068 of 8248) and 90.32% of non-Iranian participants (392 of 434) had received all essential childhood vaccination by the time of interview. In total, 93.02% of all participants had presentable vaccination cards, and the immunization history of 535 (6.16%) children was retrieved using their electronic health files. The dropout rate between receiving pentavalent vaccine 1 and pentavalent vaccine 3 was 0.01%. In 29 provinces, vaccination coverage was ≥ 95%. In the other two provinces, the figure was 93.30%.Conclusion: Immunization coverage of children aged 24–35 months fully complied with eradication/elimination goals of vaccine-preventable diseases. In 2019, measles and rubella elimination was certified in the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, non-Iranian residents with immunization coverage < 95% constitute a high-risk group for possible outbreaks.
Subject(s)
Communicable Diseases , ImmunizationABSTRACT
The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been rapidly spreading globally since December 2019, triggering a pandemic, soon after its emergence, with now more than one million deaths around the world. While Iran was among the first countries confronted with rapid spread of virus in February, no real-time SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome tracking is performed in the country. To address this issue, we provided 50 whole-genome sequences of viral isolates ascertained from different geographical locations in Iran during March-July 2020. The corresponding analysis on origins, transmission dynamics and genetic diversity, represented at least two introductions of the virus into the country, constructing two major clusters defined as B.4 and B.1*. The first entry of the virus occurred around 26 December 2019, as suggested by the time to the most recent common ancestor, followed by a rapid community transmission, led to dominancy of B.4 lineage in early epidemic till the end of June. Gradually, reduction in dominancy of B.4 occurred possibly as a result of other entries of the virus, followed by surge of B.1.* lineages, as of mid-May. Remarkably, variation tracking of the virus indicated the increase in frequency of D614G mutation, along with B.1* lineages, which showed continuity till October 2020. According to possible role of D614G in increased infectivity and transmission of the virus, and considering the current high prevalence of the disease, dominancy of this lineage may push the country into a critical health situation. Therefore, current data warns for considering stronger prohibition strategies preventing the incidence of larger crisis in future.
