Cairo: Over 300,000 people have registered for receiving the vaccine against COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia since registration opened in the kingdom on Tuesday, a health official said.
The kingdom started vaccinations Thursday against the diseases after receiving two batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19.
The Saudi Health Ministry announced the start of registration for the COVID-19 vaccine for all citizens and expatriates in the kingdom through the smart app “Sehhaty” by visiting http://onelink.to/yjc3nj.
“There is big interest in registering for taking the vaccine as the number of those who have registered via Sehaty has surpassed 300,000 in three days,” Undersecretary of the Saudi Health Ministry for Public Health Dr Hani Jokhdar said.
The vaccination campaign will be launched in all regions of the kingdom next month, he told Saudi television Al Ekhbariya.
“Those receiving the vaccine are followed up via the app Sehaty and any potential side effects that may appear on them are also monitored through the app,” he added.
Dr Jokhdar said while the vaccination is optional for citizens and expatriates, failure to get the injection will prolong the pandemic and infect more people.
Saudi authorities have said the vaccine is provided for free for citizens and foreign residents.
Vaccination priority is given to those aged over 65, people at a high risk of infection due to their professions, and those suffering from obesity, chronic diseases or immunity deficiency.
