RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Asiri announced that Saudi Arabia will be among the first countries in the G20 and around the world to obtain good quantities of safe and effective vaccines to combat coronavirus. In an interview with Saudi Television on Wednesday, Asiri said that Saudi Arabia is working on a plan that guarantees access to a basket of internationally approved vaccines. He explained that all major vaccines that have reached the final phases of trials are included in this basket. Asiri said that the Kingdom has signed a contract with an elite group to obtain any vaccine that succeeds in the final tests. "There is also another path through which the Kingdom is working to obtain approved vaccines, and that is through direct contracts between Saudi Arabia and promising companies whose vaccines have reached an advanced level in clinical trials," he said. According to Asiri, there won't be any clear effect of vaccines on the virus before mid-2021. "The vaccine must reach a large number of people so that it can affect the course of the epidemic," he said. Asiri said that official approval for the two vaccines is expected at least before the end of 2020 for its emergency use globally. "It will take several months for the distribution and delivery of the vaccine among the people," he added.
