Youths make a beeline to take vaccines

More youngsters are lining up to get their second dose of Covid-19 vaccine than the elderly at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC), according to the Ministry of Health.

On a given day, around 11,000 people take vaccines from 8 am to 2 pm which is 10 per cent more than the pre-registered recipients. Sixty per cent of them are women.

“We receive at least 10,000 to 11,000 people and majority of them are youngsters,” according to Dr Nada al Barwani, in-charge of the vaccination programme at the centre. She said the acceptance of vaccination has increased in the past few days more than ever since Oman embarked upon a mass vaccination campaign and started adding various target groups.

“There has been a constant, proportionate increase in the number of people taking vaccines since the vaccination campaign started and it is doubling as more target groups are added,” she added.

Oman started coronavirus vaccinations in December, 2020.

The expatriate population in Oman began to receive vaccines from August 14 with the first phase in Masirah where several hundreds, predominantly from South Asian countries, took the first dose. There are nearly 6,000 expatriate workforce and family members living on Masirah Island.

In Al Dhahirah Governorate, vaccination campaign for residents in the governorate started on August 15, and covered employees working in barber shops and salons, domestic workers and workers of various farms in the governorate.

In Al Batinah Governorate, expats working in similar professions were vaccinated from Monday, and all women working in beauty salons and other centres meant for women as well as employees of restaurants, coffee shops and others were included.

The Ministry of Health keeps adding newer target groups such as labourers and others who have close interaction with the customers. The national vaccination programme aims to administer at least 95 per cent of people with the first dose and 50 per cent with second dose in the coming months.

To aid the quicker vaccination programmes, the Sultanate has reduced the gap between two doses of Covid-19 vaccines to six weeks instead of 10 weeks. Nearly 2.5 million people have been given either single or two doses.