Cairo: Saudi Arabia has announced the continued rescheduling of vaccinations against COVID-19 due to the manufacturer’s delay in delivering supplies to the kingdom.
The Health Ministry has attributed the rescheduling at its four inoculation centres to “reasons beyond its control”, noting the manufacturer’s continued delay in making supplies to the kingdom and other countries around the world.
“The manufacturing company has committed itself to delivering supplies starting from mid-February after it stopped vaccine exports to all countries because of expansion in production lines,” the ministry said in a statement without naming the company.
According to medical references, the second dose of the inoculation can be taken six weeks after the first, it added.
The ministry said it will continue the vaccination drive and launch more inoculation centres to cover the whole kingdom with the availability of the vaccine in the next period.
Last month, Saudi Arabia launched its largest vaccinations against the highly contagious disease after receiving batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The kingdom has set up inoculation facilities in Riyadh, Jeddah, the Eastern Province and the Medina.
Saudi authorities have said the vaccine is provided for free for citizens and foreign residents.
Last week, the Health Ministry announced rescheduling of the vaccination due to delay in jab deliveries from the manufacturer.
