COVID-19: Saudi Arabia plans massive vaccination drive for children
Jabs to be administered according to age, Health ministry says
Cairo: Saudi Arabia will start a large-scale campaign in the next days to vaccinate children against COVID-19, Health Ministry spokesman Dr Mohammed Al Abd Al Aly said.
“All vaccines approved in the kingdom is highly safe and have passed through all medical and ethical phases before approval,” he added, according to media reports.
The Health Ministry has said that the vaccines now available in Saudi Arabia are Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca and Moderna. The recipients are categorised according to age groups, the ministry added. Children aged from five to 11 years are vaccinated with Pfizer; children aged 12 and above get Moderna; while those at 18 and above are given other vaccines. The age is calculated based on the Gregorian calendar, the ministry has noted.
Saudi Arabia has recently experienced a spike in COVID-19 infections.
On Sunday, the kingdom confirmed 3,460 more virus cases, raising the total to 578,753. It also reported one more related death, bringing the total fatalities to 8,893.