JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia's Minister of Health Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and Chairman of Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) Dr. Abdullah Al-Ghamdi launched the “Health Passport" service via Tawakkalna application.
This service aims to confirm that Saudis and expatriates have received all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and thus become immune to the virus.
The minister also received on Thursday the second dose of the vaccine at the COVID-19 Vaccine Center in Riyadh as part of the vaccination plan being implemented by the Ministry of Health. It was Dr. Al-Rabiah who received the first-ever dose of the vaccine in the Kingdom at the center earlier on Dec. 17.
Dr. Al-Rabiah thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for their care and continuous interest in preserving the health and safety of citizens and expatriates, as well as on taking all preventive precautions to protect them from coronavirus and stem the spread of the disease.
He also appreciated the keenness of the wise leadership to make available a safe and internationally approved vaccine to citizens and expatriates, saying that this contributed to making the Kingdom one of the best countries in the world in confronting the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Al-Rabiah called on all members of the Saudi society to adhere to preventive measures and to be careful to wear masks and to register to receive the vaccine.
“Preparations are underway to open more Corona vaccination centers soon to cover all regions of the Kingdom,” he added.
Biden will aim to release every available Covid-19 vaccine dose when he takes office, breaking from Trump
From CNN's Sara Murray
President-elect Joe Biden will aim to release every available dose of the coronavirus vaccine when he takes office, a break with the Trump administration's strategy of holding back half of US vaccine production to ensure second doses are available.
What this means: Releasing all vaccine doses on hand could quickly ratchet up the availability of coronavirus vaccines by allowing more people access to a first dose. It could also be a risky strategy as both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna's vaccines require two doses, administered at specific intervals, and vaccine manufacturing has not ramped up as rapidly as many experts had hoped.
"The President-elect believes we must accelerate distribution of the vaccine while continuing to ensure the Americans who need it most get it as soon as possible. He supports releasing available doses immediately, and believes the government should stop holding back vaccine supply so we can get more shots in Americans' arms now," said TJ Ducklo, a spokesperson for Biden's transition. "He will share additional details next week on how his Administration will begin releasing available doses when he assumes office on January 20th."
The comment from Biden's transition comes after a group of governors wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Operation Warp Speed Chief Operating Officer Gen. Gustave Perna pressing the federal government to distribute "reserved doses" of the Covid-19 vaccine to states that need them.
"Our states are ready to work around the clock to ramp up distribution, get more shots in arms, and save more American lives. General Perna, as you have stated before, 'a vaccine sitting on a shelf is not effective,'" the letter reads. "We couldn't agree with you more. That's why we are asking for your help now. When we work together, we can end this pandemic and return to a life of normalcy sooner."
The Trump administration has insisted it's necessary to hold back doses to ensure Americans who receive the first course of the two-dose vaccine will be sure to have access to a second dose. But the move has sparked a debate about whether a better strategy would be releasing all available doses as quickly as possible, particularly amid rising death and hospitalization rates. A study published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine also found that administering first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine to more individuals instead of withholding available supply for use as a second dose may reduce the number of new cases.
"Operation Warp Speed is continuing to ensure second doses are available to vaccine administration sites, at appropriate intervals, as directed by jurisdiction leaders," said a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services. "We would be delighted to learn that jurisdictions have actually administered many more doses than they are presently reporting. We are encouraging jurisdictions to expand their priority groups as needed to ensure no vaccine is sitting on the shelf after having been delivered to the jurisdiction-directed locations."
The spokesperson also noted the US Food and Drug Administration recently reiterated the importance of requiring two doses for both the Pfizer and Modern vaccines.
More on the vaccines: The vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are both about 95% effective after two full doses.
Earlier this week, two top officials from the FDA said anyone who receives those vaccines needs both doses, dismissing the idea of stretching the supply by allowing just one dose or cutting doses in half.
They also dismissed other ideas for stretching the vaccine supply and said people who are speculating about the possibility of making do with just one dose or cutting doses in half are misinterpreting the data.
"We have been following the discussions and news reports about reducing the number of doses, extending the length of time between doses, changing the dose (half-dose), or mixing and matching vaccines to immunize more people against COVID-19," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn and Dr. Peter Marks, who heads FDA's vaccine division, said in a statement.
"These are all reasonable questions to consider and evaluate in clinical trials. However, at this time, suggesting changes to the FDA-authorized dosing or schedules of these vaccines is premature and not rooted solidly in the available evidence. Without appropriate data supporting such changes in vaccine administration, we run a significant risk of placing public health at risk, undermining the historic vaccination efforts to protect the population from COVID-19," they added.
Hahn and Marks also said the data supports giving the second dose of each vaccine at the specified interval — 21 days after the first dose for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 28 days after the first dose for the Moderna vaccine.
According to the study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday, by reducing the amount of the vaccine doses withheld to 10% for the first three weeks and supplying a steady dose of 6 million doses per week, the US could avoid up to 29% more cases over eight weeks.
The US government currently withholds 50% of the available vaccine supply, distributing to states and other jurisdictions weeks later to be administered as the second in a 2-dose series.
The researchers modeled various scenarios, with variables including vaccine supply, protection provided by the first dose, and waning efficacy of the first dose if the second dose is delayed. Only in the unlikely worst-case scenario of a collapse in supply and minimal protection among individuals who have received the first dose would the model suggest that withholding 50% of available supply provides better protection.
"We find that under most plausible scenarios, a more balanced approach that withholds fewer doses during early distribution to vaccinate more people as soon as possible could substantially increase the benefits of vaccines, while enabling most recipients to receive second doses on schedule," write the study's authors, who were supported by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health editor, BBC News online
What is the new variant?
All viruses, including the one that causes Covid-19, mutate.
These tiny genetic changes happen as the virus makes new copies of itself to spread and thrive.
Most are inconsequential, and a few can even be harmful to the virus's survival, but some can make it more infectious or threatening to the host - humans.
There are now many thousands of different versions, or variants, of the pandemic virus, circulating. But experts' concerns focus on a small number of these.
One is the South African variant called 501.V2.
What do experts say?
The South African variant carries a mutation called E484K, among others.
It's different from another recently discovered variant that scientists have been studying in the UK.
Both the new South African and UK 'Kent' variants appear to be more contagious, which is a problem because tougher restrictions on society may be needed to control the spread.
While changes in the new UK variant are unlikely to harm the effectiveness of current vaccines, there is a chance those in the South African variant may do so to some extent, say, scientists.
It is too soon to say for sure, or by how much, until more tests are completed, although it is extremely unlikely the mutations would render vaccines useless.
Scientists have tested the Pfizer Covid vaccine against one of the mutations found in the South African variant, called N501Y, using blood samples from 20 people.
In that preliminary study, vaccination appeared to work against the mutated virus.
More studies are needed though because N501Y is not the only change the South African variant has undergone.
Dr. Simon Clarke, who is an expert in cell microbiology at the University of Reading, said: "The South African variant has some additional mutations including changes to some of the virus' spike protein which is concerning."
The spike protein is what coronavirus uses to gain entry into human cells. It is also the bit that vaccines are designed around, which is why experts are worried about these particular mutations.
"They cause more extensive alteration of the spike protein than the changes in the Kent variant and may make the virus less susceptible to the immune response triggered by the vaccines," said Dr. Clarke.
Prof Francois Balloux, from University College London, said: "The E484K mutation has been shown to reduce antibody recognition. As such, it helps the virus SARS-CoV-2 to bypass immune protection provided by prior infection or vaccination."
But even in the worst-case scenario, vaccines can be redesigned and tweaked to be a better match in a matter of weeks or months, if necessary, say experts.
Is it more dangerous?
There is currently no evidence to suggest that any of the mutated viruses cause more serious illness.
And measures like washing your hands, keeping your distance from other people, and wearing a face-covering will still help stop the spread.
How far has it spread?
It is already the dominant virus variant in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.
Other countries including Austria, Norway, and Japan, have also found cases.
The UK has detected two people with the South African variant - one in London and the other in the northwest of England. Both were contacts of people who traveled to South Africa.
What is the UK doing about it?
The UK has imposed a ban on direct flights from South Africa and restrictions on flights to the country. Anyone who has traveled there recently, and anyone they have been in contact with, are being told to quarantine immediately.
Public health authorities and scientists are studying the variant and will share their findings soon.
Dr. Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser on Covid-19 to Public Health England, said: "We are carrying out work as a priority to understand the potential risk this variant may cause. It is important to say that there is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness, or that the regulated vaccine would not protect against it."
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