40,000 people get second dose of Oxford vaccine in a day in Kuwait
Country received third shipment of vaccine after it was sitting in storage for one month
Kuwait City: Around 40,000 people received their second dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in one day, a day after Kuwait’s Ministry of Health authenticated the third shipment of the vaccine, local media said.
On the first day, Mishref vaccination centre, the largest in Kuwait, saw massive crowds and overcrowding as lines stretched outside the vaccination halls.
The mass vaccination campaign came after Kuwait witnessed a delay in the arrival of the Oxford shipment, which was then further delayed as the documents to authenticate the shipment did not arrive on time.
The shipment, which arrived on May 10 from Russia, has been sitting in a storage facility while the documents arrive to prove that the batch is safe for usage.
Minister of Health Dr. Basel Al Sabah said they are planning to administer the second dose to all 200,000 citizens and residents that received the first dose more than three months ago, within 10 days and across 30 vaccination centres.
Delayed jab
Amid a worldwide shortage and delay in shipments, last month the ministry decided to postpone the administering of the second dose.
Instead of receiving the shot 12-weeks after the first dose, the ministry announced that they will be delaying the second dose so that it is given between three to four months from the first jab.
The ministry has reiterated that there will be no side effects if the second dose is delayed.
New vaccines
To ensure that there is no shortage of vaccines, the Ministry of Health authorised the emergency use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday.
The decision comes after Dr. Basel Al Sabah announced earlier this week that Kuwait has signed deals with US pharmaceutical companies to supply both the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines.