Cairo: A new centre has been launched in the Saudi holy city of Mecca for vaccinating employees of the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, as the kingdom is expanding mass vaccinations against the disease, according to Saudi media.
Chief of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Abdulrahaman Al Sudais launched the new facility in the presence of the Director-General for Mecca Health Affairs Dr Wael bin Hamza.
Al Sudais highlighted the Saudi efforts to combat the global coronavirus pandemic, including making vaccine doses against COVID-19 available. “Cooperation with the Health Affairs Directorate in Holy Mecca is part of precautions against the coronavirus and providing the best prevention and safety for employees of the Two Holy Mosques,” he added.
On December 17, Saudi Arabia began its largest vaccination campaign against COVID-19 after receiving batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The kingdom has already set up four inoculation facilities in Riyadh, Jeddah, the Eastern Province and the Medina.
It has since set up more vaccination centres in different parts of the country.
Last month, the kingdom approved the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Over 3.5 million doses of vaccination have been administered in Saudi Arabia since December, according to the latest figures from the Health Ministry.
Health authorities have encouraged the people to register for receiving the jabs via the smartphone app Sehaty.
Saudi authorities have said the vaccine is provided for free for citizens and foreign residents.
