JEDDAH: Saudi Ministry of Health spokesman Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly has laughed off suggestions that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is unsafe, saying that many of those spreading rumors about the treatment “will be first in line to receive it.”
“It’s the same people who used to say mixtures of treatment and herbs and all sorts will cure COVID-19 — they’re the same people doubting the vaccine right now,” Al-Aly told Al-Ekhbariya TV.
“They’re keeping up with the trends, which are targeting the vaccine.”
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are being inoculated, and the treatment’s safety is guaranteed, he added.
According to the news channel, 55,000 people have received the vaccine at the Jeddah center, with 5,000 to 5,500 being vaccinated daily.
Before receiving the vaccine, people undergo a temperature check, and must wear a mask and maintain social distance.
Patients wait 4-5 minutes for their turn and, after the shot has been administered, a further 15 minutes to be monitored for any adverse side
effects.
There have been no reported side effects among those who have received the vaccine, according to Al-Ekhbariya.
After a person signs up for an appointment on the Sehaty app, the app updates them with a time for their second vaccine shot.
Saudi Arabia reported five new COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday. The death toll now stands at 6,300.
A total of 147 new cases were reported, meaning 364,096 people have now contracted the disease. There are 1,939 active cases, with 310 in a critical condition.
According to the ministry, 39 of the newly recorded cases were in Riyadh, seven in Makkah and one in Madinah.
In addition, 151 new patients have recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 355,857.
Saudi Arabia has so far conducted 11,437,165 PCR tests, with 50,138 carried out in the past 24 hours.
Since the beginning of the vaccination process, 178,338 people have been inoculated as of Monday.