RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will start inoculating young people aged 12 to 18 against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine after it was approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, the health ministry said on Sunday.
The Ministry of Health said that this step comes as a continuation of its efforts to expand the inoculation process, after vaccinating 70 percent of the adult population in the Kingdom, according to progress in community coverage, priority categories, and availability of vaccine supplies.
The Kingdom confirmed 15 new COVID-19 related deaths on Sunday, raising the total number of fatalities to 7,775.
The Ministry of Health reported 1,218 new confirmed cases in the Kingdom in the previous 24 hours, meaning 483,221 people have now contracted the disease.
Of the total number of cases, 11,190 remain active and 1,440 in critical condition.
According to the ministry, the highest number of cases were recorded in Makkah with 369, followed by the capital Riyadh with 255, the Eastern Province with 206, Asir recorded 140, and Jazan confirmed 67 cases.
The health ministry also announced that 1,252 patients had recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 464,256.
#الصحة تعلن عن تسجيل (1218) حالة إصابة جديدة بفيروس كورونا (كوفيد-19)، وتسجيل (15) حالات وفيات رحمهم الله، وتسجيل (1252) حالة تعافي ليصبح إجمالي عدد الحالات المتعافية (464,256) حالة ولله الحمد. pic.twitter.com/tuZ22aAZRi
— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) June 27, 2021
The ministry renewed its call on the public to register to receive the vaccine, and adhere to the measures and abide by instructions.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs reopened 12 mosques in three regions after temporarily evacuating and sterilizing them after some people tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of mosques closed and reopened after being sterilized to 1,684 within 141 days.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected over 181 million people globally and the death toll has reached around 3.93 million.
(With Reuters)
