Cairo: Saudi health authorities have allowed walk-in inoculation against COVID-19 for people aged 75 years and above as the kingdom is expediting vaccinations against the highly infectious disease.
The Health Ministry has said that this age category of people can walk into the nearest inoculation centres to them in the country to receive the jabs without the need for registering to get a prior appointment.
“We are keen on safety of our fathers and mothers. Therefore, we have made it easy for those aged 75 and above to head to any vaccination centre without an appointment. They’ll have the priority,” Saudi Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah tweeted.
Saudi Arabia initiated mass vaccinations against COVID-10 on December 17. About 6 million doses have since been administered in the country at 587 vaccination centres, according to media estimates.
Free vaccinations
Authorities have offered the vaccination to citizens and foreign residents for free.
Last week, Saudi Arabia announced that only “immunised” people against COVID-19 will be allowed to perform the Umrah or minor pilgrimage, and visit the Prophet’s Mosque starting from the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
The Ministry of Haj and Umrah has defined the eligible “immunised” categories as those who have received two doses of the vaccine against COVID-19; those receiving a single dose of inoculation at least 14 days in advance; and those who have recovered from the virus infection.
The kingdom so far has confirmed a tally of 396,758 virus cases and 6,737 fatalities.
