Saudi Arabia approves Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has approved the emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

The SFDA stated that the vaccine will be tested once they receive the shipments before administration. Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abdulaali said that the National Committee for Infectious Diseases has approved one dose for those who have previously been infected with the virus six months on from their recovery.

Saudi Arabia had launched a three-phase National Vaccination Campaign administering Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine last December with more than 2 million people registering for the vaccine in the first month itself. The Kingdom becomes the fourth country in the Gulf Cooperation Council, after the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Ministry of Health announced 337 new confirmed cases of the novel Covid19 in the Kingdom, bringing the total number to 374,366. Overall, 6,450 people have died with 4 Covid deaths reported on Friday, while 365,363 recovered with 346 new cases of recoveries.