Saudi Arabia to be among first G20 countries to get COVID-19 vaccine: official

Saudi Arabia will be among the first G20 countries that will have access to reasonable volumes of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, Saudi TV reported, citing Abdullah Assiri, Assistant Deputy Minister for Preventive Health.

Assiri mentioned that the Kingdom is moving in two directions – first of all, to be a part of the COVID-19 Tools Accelerator to develop an internationally-accredited basket that will include all the vaccines in the final stage testing, adding that the Saudi government has access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator – COVAX Facility to get any vaccine that is proved effective.

The Kingdom also seeks to get other approved vaccines, via concluding direct agreements with promising companies whose vaccines have reached an advanced stage in testing, he added.

Assiri expects two or three vaccines to be officially approved for global emergencies before year-end, however, “we need months to make them available for the public,” he indicated.

The relevant impact will not appear before mid-2021, he noted.