RIYADH — Dr. Hani Joukhadar, deputy minister of health for public health, announced on Tuesday that the number of registered people to receive the coronavirus vaccine may exceed one million within a couple of days. Participating in the "Fifth Eye" program on Al-Ekhbariya television channel, he said that the second dose of vaccination will be administered during a period of one week to 10 days after receiving the first dose, and by this the body would have reached the height of immunity that a person needs to prevent the virus. Referring to the mutated strain of the virus, he said that the symptoms of the new variant are the same like the symptoms of the coronavirus. "Some agencies have stated that it is spreading faster, but nothing has been proved to vindicate this, and the matter is still under evaluation," he said. Dr. Joukhadar said that the number of cases in intensive care units and hospitals has not increased after the reporting of the mutated strain in some countries. "The number of patients and deaths in Britain is less than before, but the infected cases are more. It has not yet been proven that there is an increase in the chances of transmitting infection from the mutated virus," he pointed out. According to the ministry official, the new strain appeared in some countries of the world, but there is no spread, thanks to the precautions. "The genetic mutations are simple and did not affect the seriousness of the virus, and that health authorities in the Kingdom follow everything that is published about it," he said. Dr. Joukhadar drew attention to the announcement made by Germany that the current vaccine is still effective for the new strain, and the report published by Johns Hopkins University of America substantiating it. It is noteworthy that Pfizer BioNTech stated that the mutation in the virus occurred in only nine amino acids of the strain, while the original virus contains 1,270 amino acids.
