Saudi approves registration of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

Saudi Arabia’s health authority has approved the registration of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the kingdom, it announced on Thursday.

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) made the announcement after Pfizer submitted a request to approve registering the vaccine.

Health authorities in the kingdom can then import and use the vaccine, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

The approval was based on the data provided by Pfizer on November 24, 2020. As soon as the requirements were completed, the authority began reviewing and evaluating the registration files from several aspects, it said.

SFDA said that based on the approval issued, concerned health authorities will start the import procedures in line with the standards and requirements.

The authority will analyse samples from each incoming vaccine shipment before using it to ensure its quality, SPA reported.

“The Ministry of Health will announce the date of the vaccine’s arrival and the start date of using it after completing import requirements,” it added.