JEDDAH: The Saudi Ministry of Health renewed its call on everyone in the Kingdom to register for vaccines to preserve their health as it announced an increase in active and critical cases of COVID-19.
“Vaccines are safe and an effective way to get rid of infectious diseases,” the ministry said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia reported six more COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday. The death toll now stands at 6,545.
The Ministry of Health reported 386 new cases, meaning that 380,958 people have now contracted the disease. There are 2,830 active cases, with 528 in critical condition.
According to the ministry, 177 of the newly recorded cases were in Riyadh, 81 in the Eastern Province, 43 in Makkah, and 13 in Madinah.
INNUMBER
380,958
Total number of COVID-19 cases in the Kingdom
In addition, 245 patients had recovered from the disease, bringing the total to 371,583 recoveries.
Saudi Arabia has so far conducted 14,130,542 PCR tests, with 54,425 carried out in the past 24 hours.
Saudis and expats in the Kingdom continue to receive their jabs, with 1,653,741 people having been vaccinated so far.
Riyadh’s first Health Cluster inaugurated five vaccination centers in the south and west of the capital on Wednesday. The newly opened centers come in addition to the existing ones that were previously launched.
Questions about the approved vaccines continue to emerge among people considering the jabs. Saudi consultant and chief of the COVID-19 vaccination
area in Makkah, Dr. Saud Al-Zahrani, explained the difference between the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.
“The difference between the two vaccines is in the period between the first and second jab — Pfizer vaccine ranges from three to six weeks between the two doses, while AstraZeneca is up to 12 weeks,” he said in a video posted by the Center for International Communication’s Twitter account.