Coronavirus vaccine volunteers not showing any side effects: Saudi Arabia’s ministry

Citizens and residents of Saudi Arabia who received the COVID-19 vaccine have not shown any side effects and are “healthy and well,” the Kingdom’s Ministry of Health confirmed on Tuesday.

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The Kingdom began the first phase of its vaccination campaign on Thursday, with more than 440,000 volunteers receiving the vaccine so far.

“All those who have taken the Corona[virus] vaccine are healthy and well, and everyone who received the vaccine did not show any unexpected symptoms,” the health ministry’s spokesperson Mohammed al-Abd al-Ali said on Twitter.

The public can sign up to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine (Tozinameran) through the Kingdom’s Sehaty app.

A Saudi woman waits to get a dose of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, in Riyadh. (File photo: Reuters)

Emad al-Daihan, the first Saudi Arabian citizen to receive the vaccine, told Al Arabiya on Thursday that the process to register, schedule an appointment, and receive the vaccine through the app was quite simple.

Saudi Arabia will open additional vaccine centers in the Eastern Province and its western region, as thousands of citizens and residents continue to sign up to receive the dose, according to the ministry.

Citizens and residents over the age of 65 and workers in the most vulnerable professions have been the first to receive the vaccine.

Those who have compromised immune systems and/or are taking immunosuppressive medication, those who suffer from chronic diseases (asthma, chronic heart disease, etc.), and obese people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 40 have also been prioritized, the health ministry said.

Pregnant women or those who are breastfeeding, women who are planning on getting pregnant in the next two months, people with severe allergies, and those who have been infected with the virus in the past 90 days are not allowed to receive the vaccine, according to the ministry.

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