More than half the population of Saudi Arabia has now received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, the Health Ministry said on Sunday, as the kingdom passed 500,000 cases of the virus.
More than 19.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered, the ministry said.
Saudi Arabia’s Food and Drug Authority on Friday approved the use of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine in the kingdom.
It is the latest vaccine to be authorised after those made by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson.
Other than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, all others require two doses to provide maximum protection against the coronavirus, although studies show some level of protection after the first shot.
Infections are increasing in the kingdom with an additional 1,177 new cases confirmed on Saturday, bringing the country's total to 500,083.
A total 7,963 people in Saudi Arabia have died with Covid-19, with 16 deaths on Saturday.
On Saturday, a Saudi Arabian citizen who contracted Covid-19 in Indonesia was flown to Riyadh on a special military medical evacuation aircraft at the request of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Defence Ministry reported.
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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