4th wave of Covid-19 largely in decline in Azerbaijan

Since the end of December 2021, the fourth wave of the coronavirus in Azerbaijan has declined. This trend continued in the early days of 2022. In Azerbaijan, more than 15% of the population has already been vaccinated with a booster dose of the vaccine. Starting from February 15, the third dose of the vaccine will become mandatory.

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The fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which began in August 2021, andconsisted of two peaks, began to decline in Azerbaijan. As can be seen from the graph published by the Operational Headquarters for Combating Coronavirus under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, in early October 2021, after a short break, there was a second outbreak of Covid-19 infections.

Since the beginning of 2022, the number of new coronavirus infections detected per day has not exceeded 500-600 cases. This is the lowest level since August 2021.

According to official information, no cases of infection with the omicron strain have been identified in Azerbaijan.

The dynamics of Covid-19 cases in the countries of the South Caucasus can be found here.

Vaccination in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, four types of vaccines are available – Sinovac (China), Sputnik V (Russia), AstraZeneca (South Korea) and Pfizer (USA-Germany).

According to official information, as of January 6, 46.8% of the total population were vaccinated with both doses of one of the vaccines available in the country, and 51.8% were vaccinated with only one dose.

15.5% of the total population of Azerbaijan has already been vaccinated with the third – a booster dose.

Booster dose to become mandatory

From February 15, 2022, the COVID passport for inoculation with two doses of the coronavirus vaccine will lose its validity if more than six months have passed since the second dose of the vaccine was administered. In other words, if a person was vaccinated with a second dose in September 2021, they can use a Covid passport only until March 2022.

The document on the vaccination with the third, booster, dose was declared indefinite. In the future, a different decision may be made on this matter, the headquarters said in a statement. This means that a decision may soon be made on the mandatory fourth dose of the vaccine.

Without a Covid passport, it is prohibited to visit public catering establishments (in enclosed spaces), cinemas, theaters, museums, shopping centers in Azerbaijan.