Saudi Arabia: COVID-19 vaccinations likely to be rescheduled

Cairo: Saudi Arabia has hinted at rescheduling vaccinations against COVID-19 due to delay in the vaccine deliveries.

The official Saudi news agency quoted the Health Ministry as saying that administering the first doses of inoculation for would-be recipients can be rescheduled for reasons beyond its control.

“This is due to delay in supplies to the kingdom and other countries on the part of the vaccine producer,” the ministry added without naming the manufacturer.

Last month, Saudi Arabia launched its largest vaccinations against the highly contagious disease after receiving batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Last week, Bahrain, another Gulf country, announced that a batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19, which was scheduled for arrival this month, will be delayed and rescheduled.

The Saudi Health Ministry also said it will continue and expand the national inoculation campaign by setting up more inoculation centres to cover the whole kingdom.

Registration for the vaccine against the COVID-19 is available for Saudis and expatriates in the kingdom through the smart app “Sehhaty” by visiting http://onelink.to/yjc3nj.

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 jobs, and those suffering from obesity, chronic diseases or immunity deficiency.