Students in Saudi Arabia must receive first COVID-19 vaccine dose before Aug 8

All students must receive their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine before August 8 to ensure that they are fully vaccinated before the start of the new academic term, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health said on Monday.

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“The ministry emphasizes the need for all male and female students to receive the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine before August 8 so that they can take the second dose before the beginning of the first semester, as the period between the two doses is 3 weeks,” the health ministry announced on Twitter.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Education and the health ministry announced that all school employees and students aged 12 and above must be fully vaccinated before the start of the academic year.

The new school term is set to begin on August 29, and health authorities want to ensure that all students and staff members are protected against the coronavirus.

“The Ministry of Health will provide vaccines, make appointments available for students targeted for the immunization process, in addition to teachers, faculty members and administrators from the education staff, and provide all possibilities necessary to complete the vaccination operations before the beginning of the academic year,” the two ministries said in a joint statement on Sunday.

Over 27 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered around the Kingdom at more than 587 inoculation centers so far, according to the Ministry of Health.

Starting from August 1, unvaccinated residents and citizens are prohibited from entering government facilities, malls, restaurants, cafes, and are banned from using public transportation.

Without proof of vaccination, no one will be allowed to attend events and weddings and will be banned from entering beauty parlors and barber shops.

The move comes as part of efforts to curb the coronavirus outbreak, especially as more severe and easily transmissible variants of the disease have begun to spread globally.

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