COVID-19: Saudi Arabia to launch 2nd round of vaccinations February 18

Cairo: Saudi health authorities have scheduled the onset of the second stage of a vaccination drive against COVID-19 for February 18 after receiving more doses.

The new stage will entail expanding the administration of the first dose of the inoculation and its availability in different areas of the kingdom and increase the daily appointments for receiving the jabs, according to the Health Ministry.

A spokesman for the ministry has called for registering to get the inoculation via the smart app Sehaty through the link http://onelink.to/yj3ni.

Saudi Arabia so far has reported a tally of 373,046 coronavirus cases and 6,438 related deaths.

Saudi Health Minister Dr Tawfiq Al Rabiah announced Monday the arrival of new batches of the vaccine in the kingdom after recent disruptions in supplies. Last month, Saudi authorities announced vaccination rescheduling due to the manufacturer’s delay in delivering supplies.

The Health Ministry at the time attributed the rescheduling at its four inoculation centres to “reasons beyond its control”.

In December, Saudi Arabia began its largest vaccination campaign against the highly contagious ailment after receiving batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The kingdom has set up four inoculation facilities in Riyadh, Jeddah, the Eastern Province and the Medina.

Saudi authorities have said the vaccine is provided for free for citizens and foreign residents