JEDDAH – Saudi Arabia Tuesday approved two Chinese COVID vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm but only after a booster shot.
Reports in Saudi media quoting health officials said Kingdom has approved Sinovac and Sinopharm as there are currently four vaccines approved for use in the Western Asian country including AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna.
Saudi Ministry of Health further added that it was possible for those who had completed their vaccination program with Sinopharm or Sinovac to be accepted in the Kingdom, provided they had received a booster shot of a vaccine that was approved in the country.
It further added, “All visitors arriving in the Kingdom with a valid tourism visa must provide evidence of a full course of one the four vaccines currently recognized”.
Passengers arriving in Kingdom are also required to provide a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before departure and an approved paper vaccination certificate, certified by the official health authorities in the issuing country.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has allowed Pakistani travelers to directly land in the kingdom, as it relaxes stern travel curbs imposed in wake of the COVID pandemic.
The diplomatic missions as well as the expatriate community have hailed the much-awaited decision. The Embassy of Pakistan in KSA also while commending the decision shared a tweet.
“The Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh welcomes the decision of the Govt of the KSA to allow direct travel from Pakistan to KSA, for those having valid Saudi residency permits, and who have received 2 doses of Covid-19 vaccine inside KSA, before their departure from the Kingdom”, it stated.
Earlier, the Kingdom allowed conditional entry of travelers fully vaccinated with China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines provided they have had a booster shot.
