More than 70 percent of adult population in Saudi Arabia receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced it has inoculated more than 70 percent of the local adult population with the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, which amounts to more than 16.8 million doses.

The Kingdom’s Ministry of Health announced that “The next phase of the immunization program will focus on giving the second dose of vaccines to cover the age group of 50 years and above for those who took the first dose, starting on Thursday. We will also continue to provide the first dose to those who did not receive it in the previous period.”

Thursday, authorities announced that it has again rescheduled second dose appointments at all four vaccination sites in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah, according to a statement by the ministry.

Saudi Arabia had already rescheduled the dates for second dose vaccinations back in January. Authorities explained the decision to postpone appointments saying it is due to reasons beyond their control.

Wednesday, the ministry announced that the Kingdom's National Committee for Infectious Diseases is considering the possibility of administering two different COVID-19 vaccines for the first and second dose.

The committee's decision to look into mixing COVID-19 vaccine doses came after international studies showed that giving two different doses of COVID-19 vaccines was safe and effective.