JEDDAH: Saudi health authorities on Tuesday urged the elderly and people with chronic diseases to take a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine jab to help reduce their increased risk of death on contracting the virus.

Those in the two groups who had not been vaccinated are often far more vulnerable to the ill-effects of COVID-19, Ministry of Health officials warned.

“Usually, immunization is the most important step to protect them and reduce the risk of infection.

“Because you are a priority and your health and safety is important to us, if you are of the age group of 60 years and above, you can now easily book your appointment to take the COVID-19 vaccine through the priority service for the elderly via the Sehhaty app,” the ministry said on its official Twitter account.

In Saudi Arabia, the death rate from COVID-19 for ages 50 and above was more than 78 percent as opposed to 0 percent among immunized groups, the ministry added.

The Kingdom on Tuesday reported 14 more COVID-19-related deaths, taking the overall toll to 7,278.

There were 1,389 new cases, meaning that 443,460 people in the country had now contracted the disease. A total of 9,593 cases remained active, of which 1,348 patients were in critical condition.

FASTFACTS

• Saudi Arabia reported 1,389 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

• The death toll has risen to 7,278 with 14 more virus-related fatalities.

• The Makkah region is witnessing a surge in the number of cases.

Of the newly recorded cases, 422 were in the Makkah region, 380 in the Riyadh region, 163 in the Eastern Province, and 105 in the Madinah region.

In addition, the ministry said 912 patients had recovered from the disease, increasing the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 426,589.

Saudi Arabia had so far conducted 18,695,690 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with 88,182 carried out in the past 24 hours.

Testing hubs and treatment centers set up throughout the country have dealt with hundreds of thousands of people since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Among them, Taakad (make sure) centers provide COVID-19 testing for those who show no or only mild symptoms or believe they have come into contact with an infected individual. Tetamman (rest assured) clinics offer treatment and advice to those with virus symptoms such as fever, loss of taste and smell, and breathing difficulties.

Appointments for both services can be made via the ministry’s Sehhaty app.

Meanwhile, 13,123,914 people in the country had to date received a jab against COVID-19.

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