Manama: Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on Thursday started a massive campaign to vaccinate its people against COVID-19. The vaccine is free for both citizens and expats.
The first two consignments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Saudi on Wednesday. The vaccine will be distributed largely in the coming days. More than 150,000 people have already been registered for vaccination, official news agency, SPA reported.
Saudi is the second country in the GCC, after Bahrain, to use the vaccine. Elderly Saudis and expats who registered in the “Sehaty” app were called in Thursday to take the vaccine.
Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah was among the first batch who received the vaccine as a gesture to reassure and embolden people.
We confirm that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, he said.
Vaccination centres will be set up across the kingdom, Dr. Al Rabiah added. The first covid-19 vaccination centre will be set up in the capital city, Riyadh. The minister said the goal was to completely control the coronavirus within nine months.
This is the largest vaccination campaign in the kingdom, according to senior health ministry official. Upon directives of the King and direct follow-up from the Crown Prince, the vaccination campaign has started, he said.
The kingdom is keen on a fair distribution of the vaccine to citizens and foreign residents, he added.
The Health Ministry posted on its Twitter account pictures of the first two Saudis taking the vaccine.
The vaccination campaign has three stages, each of which has target groups. Vaccination will be given on a priority basis; it will be 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.
The Saudi Health Ministry on Tuesday 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.
Bahrain Ministry of Health has reported a huge turnout by people to take vaccine against coronavirus (COVID-19).
The national vaccination campaign has started in Bahrain on Thursday. Anyone aged 18 and above has to register for the covid vaccine, the official said.
The Health Ministry called on all people in the Kingdom to register for the vaccine by visiting https://healthalert.gov.bh which was provided to fix appointments for the free vaccine.
He thanked the kingdom’s people for following precautions against Covi-19 virus, saying that such abidance has helped limit the spread of the highly infectious disease.
