Saudi Arabia to launch COVID-19 vaccine before year-end, says official

Hani Jokhdar, Deputy Minister for Public Health

The Kingdom will receive Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days after being approved by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), Al Saudiya TV channel reported, citing Hani Jokhdar, Deputy Minister for Public Health.

He added that the ministry is bracing for using the vaccine before the end of this year, especially after being tested clinically to make sure of its safety and efficiency. 

The SFDA is currently testing other vaccines and will unveil them after the completion of their registration, Jokhdar said.

According to data compiled by Argaam, the SFDA approved, on Dec. 10, registration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the Kingdom.

The US firm Pfizer applied to register the new vaccine, to allow the Saudi health authorities to import and use the new medication.

Hisham Aljadhey, CEO of SFDA, said that the approval came after conducting several studies and procedures to ensure the safety of the vaccine.