Seven million vaccine shots administered in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia administered more than seven million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine as part of its immunisation drive, the health ministry said yesterday.

The kingdom has recently recorded a surge in cases of infection and authorities urged the public to follow health and safety measures including social distancing and wearing face masks.

The ministry said the vials of vaccine doses were delivered to more than 587 clinics in the kingdom, which reported 13 deaths and 916 new cases yesterday.

The vaccine is available to all citizens and foreign residents free of charge, the government said.

Authorities have imposed a hefty fine of up to 20,000 Saudi riyals ($5,333) or a jail term of two years or both as penalties for those who flout the quarantine regulations.

Since the outbreak of the virus last March, the kingdom has recorded a total of 404,970 cases and 6,823 deaths.

Prior to starting its vaccination drive, the health ministry said it hoped to have enough vaccine doses to cover 70 per cent of the country’s population by the end of 2021.

Saudi Arabia has a population of 34.8 million.

The kingdom approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines in late January to speed up Covid-19 inoculation. Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine has been used in the kingdom since December.

Those wishing to have the vaccine can make an appointment to do so by applying through the Tawakkalna smartphone application.

The Saudi government also announced new safety regulations for the holy month.

King Salman approved that taraweeh prayers be shortened from 20 rakaat (salutations) to 10, limiting the Ramadan prayers to 30 minutes, in addition to maintaining restrictions on the number of worshippers in the holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah.

Social distancing and masks will be mandatory for all visitors wishing to perform the pilgrimage of Umrah.