Ameera Abid 

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia could consider administering second doses from other vaccine manufacturers as soon as they are accredited in the Kingdom according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) spokesman.

At Sunday’s press conference, MoH spokesman Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly said that studies conducted in several countries have shown positive results, with more countries now applying the mix-match vaccine doses, including the US, Canada, Britain, the UAE and more.

Refuting claims about the depletion of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the Kingdom, Al-Aly reassured the public that the vaccine is still available and is being administered. More than 16.6 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in the Kingdom so far, at a rate of 107,857 doses per day. More than 47.7 percent of Saudi Arabia’s population have received at least one dose.

The Kingdom reported 1,079 new cases, bringing the number of active cases in the country to 10,896, a decline of 149 cases in the past 24 hours.

“The rate at which the curve is going in the past few weeks have shown positive signs of stability,” said the MoH spokesman, adding: “Many of the Kingdom’s regions have shown signs of stability and decline in cases. We continue to encourage everyone to register for the vaccine as both vaccines and precautionary measures will help in overcoming this pandemic.”

Most cases were registered in the Makkah region with 320, there were 216 cases in Riyadh and 206 cases in the Eastern Province. All other regions reported new case totals below 100, the Northern Borders reported six cases while Jouf reported only four.

The reports brought the total number of cases to 474,191 since the start of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Kingdom.

There were 1,214 new recoveries from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Most recoveries were registered in Jeddah with 187, Makkah followed with 150 and in Riyadh there were 138 recoveries.

This has brought the total number of recoveries to 455,618. The Kingdom’s recovery rate is holding steady at 96 percent.

There were 20 new critical cases, bringing the total number of critical patients to 1,516. Fourteen people died in the last 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 7,677. Some 84,652 PCR tests have been conducted via numerous testing hubs across the country. Clinics and treatment centers have been set up by the government to help thousands of people around the Kingdom in the fight against COVID-19. Through Sehhaty (my health) app the citizens have easy access to the Tetamman (rest assured) and Taakad (make sure) clinics, aimed at helping those who show symptoms and those who do not but believe they have been in contact with the virus.