"Over 75% of the community in Oman ready to take COVID-19 vaccination"

Muscat: More than 75 percent of the community is ready to take vaccination against the coronavirus, Badr Al-Rawahi, a member of the working group specialized in providing anti coronavirus vaccines said.

Badr Al Rawah said in an interview with Oman TV: "In the middle of this month, the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to arrive, and we assure everyone that studies indicate the possibility of taking the second dose of this vaccine 4 to 6 weeks after the first dose."

Badr Al-Rawahi added: "All those targeted in every governorate and state were listed in lists and contacted to take the vaccine, but the health centers are open to anyone who knows that they are among the target group without the need for contact."

Badr Al-Rawahi confirmed that: "The target groups should take the initiative to take vaccines so that the person acquires the required immunity against the disease. It is better for a person to take the currently available vaccine."

Badr Al Rawahi pointed out that: "The turnout for vaccination is very high, as 99 percent of those targeted were covered in the first stage, and according to the results of the national survey of the extent of turnout there are more than 75 percent of the community ready to take vaccination against the virus."

"There are differences between the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, so a person must take the two doses of the same vaccine," Dr Badr Al Rawahi said.

Badr Al-Rawahi indicated that: "We are still in the first phase of the national campaign for immunization against the Coronavirus, which aims to cover 20% of the population, and what has been done so far is equivalent to 4% coverage of 27,441 people who have received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and we target at this stage 50 thousand people. By the middle of this year, we seek to cover 20% of the population with vaccines that will arrive from several companies."

Dr. Adel Al-Wahaibi, Director of the Epidemiological Surveillance Department at the Ministry of Health said: "There are 200 suspected cases of the new strain of Coronavirus, and they are waiting for the results of the examination that will appear during this week. The increasing Covid-19 cases is currently generally due to some laxity in adhering to health measures."

Dr. Adel Al-Wahaibi added: "Suspected cases of infection with the new strain have been isolated since the beginning of suspicion, like other people infected with the virus. There is currently no increase in the number of Coronavirus infections among the younger age groups."