Saudi to soon start providing Covid-19 vaccine booster shots to those aged 60 and above

Saudi citizens and residents aged 60 and above will soon be provided with a Covid-19 vaccine booster dose, Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry announced on Sunday.

Health Ministry spokesperson Dr Muhammad Al-Abdulaali confirmed at a briefing that booster shots were already being offered to specific priority groups, including patients with kidney failure or those who have organ transplants.

“Preparations are being made to include the elderly over the age of 60 who were given the second dose over eight months ago. Details will be announced soon,” Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted him as saying.

He also added that vaccination trials are underway for children aged between 5 to 11.

The kingdom has so far administered more than 41 million vaccine doses across all regions since its immunisation campaign began. More than 18.3 million people have received both doses.

“We want everyone to take the initiative to complete the vaccination with both doses,” Al-Abdulaali stressed.

أبرز ما جاء في المؤتمر الصحفي للمتحدث الرسمي لوزارة الصحة.
الأحد 26 سبتمبر 2021 pic.twitter.com/ed7dXN3XHO

— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) September 26, 2021

Saudi Arabia has seen a sharp decline in Covid-19 cases across the country in recent months.

It reported 44 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the kingdom to 546,926, including 2,277 active cases.

The Health Ministry also recorded five additional fatalities, with the death toll now 8,699.

The number of people who recovered from the virus increased by 58 to reach 535,950 in total.