Virus-ravaged Iran finds brief respite with mass vaccination

While the West sees vaccination rates slowing and infections soaring with the spread of omicron, Iran for once is not seeing grim COVID-19 statistics dominate the headlines

TEHRAN, Iran -- As much of the world sees vaccination slowing and infections soaring with the spread of omicron, Iran has found a rare, if fleeting, respite from the anxiety and trauma of the pandemic.

After successive virus waves pummeled the country for nearly two years, belated mass vaccination under a new, hard-line president has, for a brief moment, left the stricken nation with a feeling of apparent safety.

Now, the specter of an omicron-fueled surge looms large. Hospitals are preparing for the worst as infections tick upward after a monthslong lull. But so far, the variant has not battered the Islamic Republic as it has many Western countries where most adults got jabs a year ago.

Drastic infection surges among the inoculated from the United States to Russia have revealed the vaccine's declining defenses against infection even as its protection against hospitalization and death remains strong. Meanwhile, Iranians have received doses more recently and are feeling off the hook with their immunity still robust.