Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The number of people who received two doses of the coronavirus vaccines approved in the Kingdom reached about 17.5 million, according to the Ministry of Health latest figures.

Those who received the second dose represent more than 50% of the Kingdom's population that reaches 35.01 million.

The number of total doses given in the Kingdom so far has reached 40,62 million doses, while 23.02 million people received at least one dose.

The ministry said that switching between the approved coronavirus vaccines is a safe and effective method, and leads to a greater immune response and contributes to protecting against complications from the virus.

There are a total of six approved vaccines against coronavirus in the Kingdom and they are Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BionTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.

According to the ministry, there is a possibility to accept the vaccination of those who have received two doses of Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines, provided that they have received a booster dose of one of the other approved vaccines in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Tawakkalna application has started giving priority for the registration of appointments for male and female teachers and school students so as to speed up receiving the vaccine in order to safely reopen in-person schools.

The Kingdom continues going ahead vigorously with its plan to vaccinate at least 70 percent of its population with the aim of achieving herd immunity by October of this year. The average number of doses given daily has reached 450,000 doses.

Saudi Arabia has introduced recently a series of preventive measures aimed at combating the spread of coronavirus with limiting access to only vaccinated people to public places as well as to public and private entities.

It has begun applying the decision on making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory to enter government and private entities, effective from Aug. 1. Vaccination is mandatory for entry to all economic, commercial, cultural, entertainment and sporting activities, as well as to all government and private establishments and educational institutions, in addition to the use of public transportation.