Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain began a few days ago to vaccinate their citizens with an anti-Corona virus vaccine, and other countries were able to secure the first batch of vaccine doses, and a third group of Arab countries announced that they would receive the first shipment of the vaccine in the next few months, while some Arab countries Are experiencing financial difficulties to enter into contracts to import the vaccine.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia embarked on an expanded vaccination campaign against the Corona virus, with the vaccine of the American company Pfizer and the German BioNTech, to be the first Arab country to use the two companies' vaccines, and the Minister of Health Tawfiq Al-Rabiah was among the first to receive the vaccine in order to reassure citizens and residents of the safety and effectiveness The vaccine.

Yesterday, Friday, the Ministry of Health said that more than 300,000 people in the Kingdom have registered to receive the Corona vaccine so far.

Last Monday, the UAE began a vaccination campaign against the virus in the capital, Abu Dhabi, days after the authorities officially registered the vaccine from the Chinese company, Sinopharm, and the UAE was among the countries that hosted the third phase of clinical trials for the Chinese company’s vaccine. Elk The preliminary results of experiments showed the effectiveness of the vaccine by 86%.

Last Wednesday, Bahrain began the vaccination campaign with the Sinopharm vaccine, following the approval of the National Authority for Regulating Health Professions and Services in the Kingdom to register the "Covid-19" vaccine produced by the Chinese company, and the King of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, received the vaccine on Wednesday.

A woman receives a dose of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine at a health facility in the Bahraini capital (Anatolia)

The second category

On the other hand, Egyptian Minister of Health Hala Zayed visited the UAE Thursday to discuss a plan to supply the virus vaccine, after Cairo received on the tenth of this month the first batch of the Chinese company Sinopharm vaccine coming from the UAE.

In Sudan, Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok said that his country had received 8.4 million doses of a vaccine against the "Covid-19" virus, adding that the quantity would be allocated to immunizing "the sectors most vulnerable to the disease, especially the medical sector." Hamdok did not clarify which specific vaccine his country obtained, Nor has the date of the first immunization operations announced.

In Qatar, the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani said today that the first shipment of Coronavirus vaccine will arrive in the country on Monday.

Last Wednesday, the medical director of Hamad General Hospital (government) Youssef Al-Maslamani stated that the Qatari authorities had contracted with the American companies Moderna and Pfizer to provide the vaccine, but he did not mention the number of vaccines that will arrive in the country.

Under the directives of His Highness the Emir, the first shipment of Covid 19 vaccine will arrive tomorrow, and I have directed the health sector to provide it to everyone according to our health standards.

This is an important step on the road to containing the epidemic and gradually returning life to normal, and expressing our pride in the success of our plan to confront the disease, we renew our thanks to our medical teams and all those involved in it.

- Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani (@KBKAlThani) December 19, 2020

In Algeria, the director of the government health security agency, Kamal Sanhaji, said, last Friday, that his country will start distributing the Corona virus vaccine after a month for free, while leaving the freedom for citizens to take the vaccination or not.

The official added - in a statement to the official Algerian Radio - that the vaccination process will take place in batches, and that in the next few days, the vaccine that Algeria will acquire will be revealed.

Whereas, last Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration in Jordan granted its emergency approval to use the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine to combat the spread of the "Covid-19" epidemic, and the General Director of the Foundation, Nizar Muhaidat, added that his organization is currently conducting a study to authorize the use of two other vaccines. Jordan The doses of the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine will arrive in Jordan by next February.

In Lebanon, caretaker Minister of Health Hamad Hassan said, last Tuesday, that the country is expected to receive the first batch of the Pfizer / Biontech vaccine after 8 weeks. The minister told Reuters last Monday that despite the severe shortage of foreign currencies, the government expects The conclusion of the deal within days.

Officials have previously said that Lebanon is in talks to obtain 1.5 million doses, and the Beirut authorities have also signed an agreement to join the global initiative "COVAX" supported by the World Health Organization to provide vaccines to middle and poor countries.

Iraq and Palestine

As for the Iraqi authorities, they expect that the anti-Corona virus vaccine will arrive in the country during the second quarter of 2021. The Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health and Environment, Riyad Abdul Amir Al-Halfi, said yesterday, Friday, that the authorities have reached an advanced stage in their discussions with Pfizer, and an agreement is expected to be concluded in The coming days to buy 1.5 million doses of the vaccine.

In the occupied Palestinian territories, Minister of Health Mai Al-Kaila said a few days ago that the PNA may receive the first shipment of the vaccine by next March, but she did not clarify its source, but the financial difficulty that the Authority is experiencing did not enable it to conclude a final deal to supply the anti-virus vaccine.

The Palestinian Prime Minister, Muhammad Shtayyeh, said on the day before yesterday, Thursday, that "the completion of the arrival of sufficient quantities of the vaccine that will enable us to vaccinate the masses will not be months before today," and the Palestinian Authority expects to obtain 20% of its needs from the vaccination program from the Kovacs initiative.

Last Tuesday, the Sultanate of Oman authorized the import of the vaccine reached by Pfizer and Biontech, and before that, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health authorized, last Sunday, the emergency use of the vaccine itself.