Muscat: The Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced the start of the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech for those who received the first dose of this vaccine starting on Sunday, February 14, 2021.
MOH has called on all groups targeted by this vaccine in the past period to take the second dose to get the desired effect.
The Ministry of Health had earlier postponed the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
The delay was caused by the manufacturer in supplying the agreed doses to Oman. This delay would include all countries of the world contracted by the company in order to expand the production lines resulting from the increased demand.
People who already received the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will not be eligible to take any other vaccine as the second dose.
Regarding the delay in the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, had said earlier: “The company was in the process of developing its factories, which led to a temporary interruption in the export of the vaccine. However, the manufacturer has confirmed that a six-week delay will not impact the effectiveness of the vaccine.”
The number of PfizerBionNTech vaccination doses distributed in Oman stood at 39,772 — given to 27,400 people as a first shot and to 12,272 people as a second dose. The manufacturer had confirmed that a six-week delay will not affect those who took the first dose.
The government hopes that before the middle of this year, all the first target groups should receive the vaccine.
