Saudi Arabia approves Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for use

Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority announced on Friday that it has approved the registration Moderna's coronavirus vaccine in the Kingdom, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The Food and Drug Authority has previously approved the British AstraZeneca vaccine, the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

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A total of 19,262,679 vaccine doses have been administered as of July 10, 2021, according to COVID-19 data from Reuters.

During the last week, Saudi Arabia averaged about 166,826 doses administered each day.

Saudi Arabia reported 1,133 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising the total to 498,906, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.

The health ministry also confirmed 14 virus-related death, taking the death toll to 7,947.

Dr. Abdullah Asiri, the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Preventive Health and Consultant in Contagious Diseases said that Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries in the world to begin a country-wide vaccination drive.

“No effort was spared to assure the highest level of vaccine equity,” he said. “The government announced the launch of a public registration system that prioritized vaccination appointments based on preset conditions. Citizens, expatriates, and visitors were all eligible to register and receive the vaccine free of charge.”

“A Royal decree was issued stating that the vaccine should be provided to all Saudi citizens and residents, including illegal residents, equally and at no cost to the individual.”

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