The Assistant Minister of Health and MOH spokesman, Dr. Muhammad Al-Abdulaali stated that we have reached important stages in fighting the COVID-19 towards the full control stage. He confirmed that the Kingdom is one of the first countries to receive the coronavirus vaccines. He called on everyone to get the second shot 21 days after the first one, through the Sehaty App. The vaccine is available for everyone free of charge, he said. So far, almost 400,000 individuals have registered for COVID-19 vaccination in this stage.
Al-Abdulaali stated that those who received the vaccine have shown no side effects. The target group in the first stage includes those who are over 65 years, people with chronic diseases, those with immune deficiency, those with a history of a previous stroke, people who are obese, in addition to professionals who are most vulnerable to infection. Those who have questions about registration for the vaccine can call the 937-Service Center, he added.
He made this statement during the press conference he held today (Sunday) with the participation of Dr. Abdullah Algwizani, Chief Executive officer of the Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control Prevention.
Dr. Al-Abdulaali revealed that 162 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Kingdom; thus bringing the total number to 361,010 confirmed cases, including 3,010 active cases, receiving the necessary medical care. Of these, there are 416 critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable. In addition, 156 new recoveries have been recorded, bringing the total recoveries to 351,878 cases, all praise is due to Allah. Also, 10 new deaths have been reported; bringing the total deaths to 6,122, May Allah bestow His mercy upon them. Moreover, 33,275 new Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in the Kingdom's laboratories, bringing the total to 10,639,645 tests. The health services are still provided through all MOH’s facilities, with 5,752,142 Molecular Diagnostic Tests «Swab Tests» at Make Sure «Taakkad» Centers, 1,705,377 patients were served at Rest Assured «Tetamman» Clinics, in addition to offering medical consultations via 937-Service Center to 24,766,522 beneficiaries, he added.
For his part, Dr. Algwizani confirmed that there is no evidence that the mutations discovered locally and internationally will affect the efficacy of the vaccines, indicating that work continues to study the genetic sequence of the virus to detect any change that may occur during and after the pandemic.
He stated that the national program for studying the complete genome of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the Kingdom is one of the Saudi CDC’s programs and the first of its kind in the GCC states. The center has successfully discovered the genome sequencing of the virus in mid-March 2020.