Sunday, the Minister of Health, Nathir Obeidat told Roya’s Nabd Albalad that more than 135,000 people have registered through the Health Ministry’s platform to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

He added that the Ministry is negotiating with Pfizer for additional purchases of the coronavirus vaccine.

Obeidat said that the ministry is working on securing two million doses of the vaccine, instead of one million. He added that an agreement was made with Pfizer to secure vaccines enough for five to ten percent of the Jordanian population.

He added that Jordan is aiming to vaccinate 20 to 25 percent of citizens and residents of the Kingdom.

Additionally, Obeidat said that receiving the vaccine is optional, despite that the Public Health Law grants the Ministry of Health the power to give the vaccine to citizens compulsorily. However, Obeidat stressed that he prefers that receiving the vaccine remains optional and free of charge.

He also said that receiving the vaccine in Jordan is only allowed for those aged 16 and above.

He added that the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will arrive in the Kingdom at the end of Jan.

Regarding the Friday lockdown and reopening schools and universities, Obeidat said that such decisions depend on the COVID-19 situation in the Kingdom.