Second vaccine dose now available for those aged 60 and above in Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Health said on Thursday that the second dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is available for those aged 60 and above.

On April 10, the ministry postponed all dates for the second jab until further notice to expand the administration of the first dose to those who were waiting to receive the vaccine. This strategy was implemented to ensure that a large segment of society was covered with the first dose.

The ministry urged people wishing to travel outside the Kingdom to take PCR tests for COVID-19 only in private sector laboratories that are licensed and approved by the Public Health Authority (Weqaya), where the issued health certificate is considered valid in all air, land and sea ports.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday reported 14 more COVID-19-related deaths, taking the overall toll to 7,309.

There were 1,183 new cases, raising the total number of cases since the pandemic’s onset to 445,963. Of the 10,152 active cases, 1,353 patients were in a critical condition.

Of the newly recorded cases, 342 were in Riyadh, 317 in Makkah, 160 in the Eastern Province and 77 in Madinah.

The ministry said 1,040 patients had recovered from the disease, increasing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 428,502.

Saudi Arabia had so far conducted 18,875,464 PCR tests, with 86,629 carried out in the past 24 hours.

Testing hubs and treatment centers set up throughout the country have dealt with hundreds of thousands of people since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Among them, Taakad (make sure) centers provide COVID-19 testing for those who show no or only mild symptoms or believe they have come into contact with an infected individual. Tetamman (rest assured) clinics offer treatment and advice to those with virus symptoms such as fever, loss of taste and smell, and breathing difficulties.

Appointments for both services can be made via the ministry’s Sehhaty app.

Meanwhile, 13,515,559 people in the country have now received a jab against the virus.

The ministry launched the first phase of the inoculation campaign on Dec. 17, 2020 while the second phase was launched on Feb. 18 this year.

The second phase expanded the program, with more vaccination centers to include all regions of the Kingdom, as a continuation of the Saudi authorities’ efforts to preserve the health and safety of all of the Kingdom’s residents.

The Ministry of Health also recently announced the launch of its vaccine service for patients in their homes through the Home Health Care Program in all regions of the Kingdom.

It has promoted a national awareness campaign under the slogan “take the step,” to urge all members of society to start the registration process for getting a vaccine.