Saudi Arabia Allows Pakistani Travelers Vaccinated With Chinese Vaccines

Saudi Arabia has allowed the foreigners who have received the Chinese COVID-19 vaccines developed by Sinopharm and Sinovac to enter the Kingdom but under certain conditions.

The development comes a week after COVAX, a global initiative aimed at equitable access to Coronavirus vaccines led by GAVI, condemned the vaccine discrimination by countries that allowed entry to international travelers vaccinated only with certain COVID-19 vaccines.


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According to details, people vaccinated with these Chinese vaccines will be required to take a booster dose of a Saudi-approved vaccine as a prerequisite to enter the Kingdom.

So far, Saudi Arabia has approved the COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna.

Another condition foreigners who have received the Chinese vaccines must fulfill is that they must provide a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours of arrival in the Kingdom.

Previously, Saudi Arabia completely barred the entry of foreigners who have received the Chinese vaccines developed by Sinopharm, Sinovac, CanSinoBIO, and Anhui Zhifei Longcom.


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World Health Organization (WHO) last month also granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Sinopharm and Sinovac, which may have emboldened Saudi Arabia to reconsider its decision.

Nonetheless, the decision by Saudi Arabia comes as a relief for thousands of Saudi-bound Pakistani workers who were denied traveling as most of them were vaccinated with either Sinopharm or Sinovac, the two Chinese vaccines mostly used for immunization in Pakistan, due to a limited supply of Saudi-approved vaccines.

However, as 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines including Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca will arrive in the country this month, it is expected the government will speed up the process of administration of the booster dose of the Saudi-approved vaccines to the Saudi-bound workers to expedite their return to the Kingdom.

Via: Saudi Gazette



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