DUBAI: Bahrain said on Friday it has granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the second country after Britain to approve it.
The kingdom had also approved Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine in November for use by frontline workers.
“The approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will add a further important layer to the Kingdom’s national COVID-19 response,” Dr. Mariam Al-Jalahma, CEO of Bahrain’s National Health Regulatory Authority said in a statement.
The vaccine will be made available to groups at greater risk of contracting complications from the coronavirus, including the elderly, people with chronic diseases, and other groups identified by the heath ministry as vulnerable.
Al-Jalahma said that intensive meetings were held with the company’s team in the US and its representatives to study the results and shed light on any queries that arose.
Lindsey Dietschi, head of Pfizer in the Gulf, said the emergency use license of the vaccine in Bahrain represents another historic moment in the battle against the coronavirus.
“This license is the goal we are working to achieve since we announced for the first time that science will prevail, and we commend the national authority for the organization of professions and health services, its ability to conduct an accurate assessment and take action in time to help protect citizens and residents in the kingdom.”
(With Reuters)
Bahrain now 2nd country to approve Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine use
https://arab.news/w2zza
Bahrain now 2nd country to approve Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine use
- Bahrain is 2nd country to authorize use of Pfizer vaccine against coronavirus
- Kingdom also approved Sinopharm’s vaccine for use by frontline workers
Syrian authorities arrest leader of terrorist cells in Lattakia
- Ali Aziz Sbeira is accused of violating civilians’ rights during the Syrian uprising after 2011
LONDON: Syrian authorities have arrested Ali Aziz Sbeira, a prominent leader of terrorist cells responsible for attacks on internal security checkpoints, the Syrian army and civilians during the country’s uprising against the former regime of Bashar Assad.
The Internal Security Directorate announced on Wednesday the capture of Sbeira in Lattakia province, located on the Mediterranean Sea.
Authorities accuse him of leading and supplying arms to terrorist groups. Hailing from the town of Jableh, Sbeira is also accused of having links to Ghiyath Dalla and Brigadier General Nours Makhlouf, two military figures associated with the former rule of Assad.
Sbeira is accused of violating civilians’ rights during the Syrian uprising after 2011, when he joined the National Defense Militia and helped suppress peaceful demonstrations, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
In 2014, he joined the 4th Armoured Division, which was commanded by Maher Assad, brother of the former president, from 2018 until the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024.
