Saudi Arabia’s health authorities launched the second phase of the coronavirus vaccination campaign on February 18, giving more categories the first dose of the vaccine, widening the reach of vaccination availability across the Kingdom and increasing accessibility with more daily appointments.
The Kingdom’s Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) approved the Pfizer/BioNtech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines against COVID-19.
The Saudi National Committee for Infectious Diseases approved giving only one dose to individuals who have previously been infected with the virus, given six months after recovery as a “booster natural immunity.”
In a related development, The Ministry of Health emphasized on Sunday that there are no recommendations either for medical isolation after receiving coronavirus vaccine or for a laboratory test before receiving vaccine shots.
It stressed the importance of continuing to apply precautionary measures and preventive protocols to stem the spread of the pandemic.
The ministry announced that the vaccines — Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford — approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority against coronavirus do not reduce or weaken immunity, saying that both are safe and protect from severe complications and death from COVID-19.
According to the ministry, it is very rare to get infected again within 90 days after the recovery. Those who have recovered from the infection may delay vaccination for a period of six months after their recovery, and need to take only a single dose, it said.
“The National Scientific Committee for Infectious Diseases decided that one dose of vaccine should be sufficient for those who have previously been infected with the virus, and it will be six months after the recovery. Data from clinical trials indicate that the two vaccines are safe and effective in people who have had a previous infection with the virus,” the ministry sources said.
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