Saudi Arabia to accept Chinese vaccines with booster shot

Saudi Arabia has decided to allow the conditional entry of travelers fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines from China, provided they have received a booster vaccine, & nbsp; SUCH AUTHORITIES & nbsp; when the kingdom was opened to international tourists

“Guests who have completed two doses of the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines will be accepted if they have received an additional dose of one of the four vaccines approved in the Kingdom,” the Saudi authorities wrote on their official visa website.

So far, Saudi health authorities have only approved AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson. However, all visitors arriving in the country will be required to present proof of vaccination along with a negative PCR test.

In addition, travelers & nbsp; arriving in the kingdom must “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 of the issuing country.”

In an attempt to facilitate travel, Saudi Arabia & nbsp; it also removed the quarantine requirement for vaccinated people.

Previously, Pakistanis, who had been administered Chinese vaccines, had to undergo mandatory quarantine in Saudi Arabia. This had led the Pakistani government to prohibits the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in people under 40 years of age to help vaccinate people traveling to the Gulf state.

PAKISTAN relies heavily on remittances from its expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia and the unavailability of AstraZeneca or other vaccines accepted by the Saudis has sparked multiple protests in the country.