Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Health has issued a circular to private sector heads on the procedure for procuring COVID-19 vaccines for their staff.
According to the circular, companies and institutions in the private sector wishing to reserve vaccines for their employees must contract with one of the private hospitals or clinics authorised by Oman’s Ministry of Health to give vaccines. For companies with private clinics for their employees, vaccines will be disbursed directly provided the clinic has appropriate storage facility and other conditions as laid down by the MoH are fulfilled.
The price of a single dose of Pfizer vaccine has been set at RO20 (including the prices of serum, solution and needle) with an additional cost of not more than RO3 for administering the same. Vaccine reservation requests should be submitted through the prescribed form available online, along with the required payment. Disbursal of the vaccines that are booked will start from next month once the va
Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Health today announced on the postponement of administration of the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine until June 2021.
MoH clarified that the postponement was due to the directives to prioritise vaccination of twelfth grade students before their final exam date.
The plans and procedures of vaccination to the students are being drawn and the timelines will be shared later.
45 and above
Meanwhile leading private companies have already started registering their staff and dependent members for the vaccination drive. Per the Supreme Committee announcement, the next phase of vaccination beginning in June, will focus on those who are 45 years and above.
Muscat: As Oman joins the world to celebrate May 8 as the International Thalassemia Day, Omani Society of Haematology Genetic shared a report that informs that the disease is present in about 2 per cent of the population in Oman.
The report also says that Thalassemia is a common hereditary blood disease in the Sultanate. About 10 per cent of the Sultanate’s population carries a gene for a serious blood disease. Batinah and Muscat governorates are the regions most affected by thalassemia while Dakhiliya and Al Sharqiya are the regions most affected by sickle cell anaemia, which is another common genetic disorder.
Muscat: Oman’s Ministry of Health said it will extend the administration of the second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to four months after the first dose due to global supply delays.
It said the time extension - 4 months - falls within the recommended time period detailed by the manufacturer to ensure the effectiveness of vaccination. It is also upholds the approved protocols for the COVID-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Health said people will be alerted on dates for their second dose via SMS.
Oman’s current vaccination drive targets the age group of 60 and above. The vaccination available in Oman is Pfizer BioNtech and AstraZeneca. Over the past month, the Ministry of Health as well as Directorate General of Health Services Oman issued notices requesting people not to pay heed to fake news circulating on social media about the vaccination being open for all age groups.
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Oman s Supreme Committee for combating coronavirus suspended on Tuesday all travel from the Philippines and Egypt from May 7 until further notice, state Oman News Agency (ONA) said.
The Supreme Committee said the decisions were made due to the global surge of infections by the new strains of coronavirus which are linked to traveling and the subsequent increase of similiar cases in the sultanate.
The number of countries under the arrival ban to Oman is now 16, including Lebanon, UK, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sudan, Brazil, Nigeria.
Diplomats, residents and health workers and heir families are exempted from the decision, according to ONA.