LOC16:34
13:34 GMT
Kuwait Ministry of Health (MoH)
KUWAIT, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Ministry of Health (MoH) announced Monday that 200,000 doses of the UK-based AstraZeneca with the University of Oxford vaccine against COVID-19 arrived in the country at dawn Monday.
The vaccines are manufactured at the Serum Institute of India (SII).
In a press statement, Assistant Undersecretary for Drug and Food Control Affairs Dr. Abdullah Al-Bader has said that the ministry is closely monitoring international developments concerning the vaccines, adding that the department would cooperate with various producing companies to get the jabs after ensuring their safety and efficacy.
Meanwhile, Khaled Al-Saeed, member of the vaccine technical committee at the MoH, said the Oxford vaccine is safe for the age categories between 18 and 65.
The ministry will begin, as of this week, giving dates to get the jab for a large number of nationals and residents at the immunization center at the fair ground, halls 5 and 6.
The vaccine is effective against medium and severe infections, he said, adding that it also averts deaths, adding that the duration between the first and second doses will be four weeks. (end)
mrf.rk