Oman plans to immunise 20 per cent of its population with COVID-19 vaccines by June.

As many as 4,147 individuals have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the last two days, according to data issued by the Ministry of Health. The second stage of a vaccination drive started on February 7. 

Badr al Rawahi, a member of the team that specialises in providing antiviral vaccines, said, “We seek to cover 20 per cent of the population with vaccines that will arrive from several companies by the middle of this year.” 

He explained, “We are still in the first phase of the national campaign for immunisation against coronavirus, which aims to cover 20 per cent of the population. We have covered four per cent of the population, with 27,441 people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. We are targeting 50,000 people in this stage.”

He informed that according to the results of the national survey, more than 75 per cent of the community is willing to be immunised against the virus. “The first dose alone does not give adequate immunity against the disease. Immunity is acquired one to two weeks after taking the second dose. It is necessary to adhere to preventive measures even after taking the jab because no vaccine offers 100 per cent immunity,” he said.

“The second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to arrive mid-February, and we assure everyone that studies indicate that the second dose of this vaccine can be taken four to six weeks after the first dose.”