Fear of vaccine side effects unjustified: MOH

Muscat: Fear of the side effects of the vaccine may be a reason for the lack of acceptance of vaccination by some and it is unjustified, said the Directorate General of Health in Muscat. 'More than 120 million people received the vaccine and no serious side effects were recorded for them, and this indicates the safety of the vaccine.' Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health,  said the target groups should take the available vaccine and added that the turnout in some governorates is still weak. Some patients in the intensive care unit were offered vaccination and they refused, the minister said. The Minister of Health said the manufacturer of the AstraZeneca vaccine is taking only the cost price only, which indicates the safety of that vaccine. According to WHO, Eastern Mediterranean Region, more than one year after the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the Region, almost 6 million people have been infected, and almost 140,000 people have died. Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean said, 'There is an overall stabilization in the number of cases across the region but several countries are reporting concerning increases. Thirteen countries have reported cases of at least one of the three new variants reported globally, including those which may have higher transmission rates, while 14 countries in the region have genome sequencing capacity, but some countries are currently performing more sequencing of the virus than others. So far, more than 6.3 million 411. doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been given to people in 12 countries of the region. • The remaining 20 countries in the region are expecting an estimated 46 to 56 million doses of vaccines during the first half of this year.