RIYADH, 4 March — Saudi Arabia will provide COVID-19 vaccines for free at pharmacies across the kingdom, Saudi Health Minister Dr Tawfik Al Rabiah told Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya.
The minister added that this comes as part of the efforts to expand the ongoing inoculation campaign and facilitate access to vaccine sites in the country.
Saudi Arabia opened more than 100 vaccination facilities around the kingdom since it started its nationwide vaccination campaign on December 17.
Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority announced that it’s currently evaluating a number of COVID-19 vaccines to help expand the vaccination process in various regions of the country, which are taking place at a high rate.
A number of universities across Saudi Arabia are preparing to open COVID-19 vaccination centres as a part of efforts supporting the Kingdom’s inoculation campaign, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported last week.
Vaccines will be available at the universities for faculty members and their family members, as well as the general public.
The doses will be given to people according to priority and age group, and as per the approved electronic systems.
Citizens and expatriates who have valid national IDs and residency permits are eligible to receive the vaccines and can register to receive the dose on the “Sehaty” app.
The Ministry of Health urged all members of the public to register for one of the vaccines, if they meet the requirements to receive the vaccine dose, and reassured the public that no reports of serious side effects happened.
Saudi Arabia has recently launched drive-through vaccine centres in Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah and Abha. Individuals wishing to receive the jab must first register through the official “Sehatty” app.
The Kingdom recorded 378,333 cases of COVID-19 up until Wednesday (3 March), with 369,277 recovered cases and 6,510 deaths, while doing more than 13 million tests since the beginning of the pandemic.
Source: Gulf News/Arab News/SPA
