Oman has launched its Covid-19 vaccination campaign on Sunday, two days ahead of its plan to resume all flights and reopening of its borders that had been temporarily closed over concerns of new virus strains evolved in Britain. The sultanate is the last of the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) to start inoculating people which has registered the second-highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia.
The healthy ministry statement said on Sunday, "The campaign targets, in the first stage, the groups most vulnerable to the pandemic, including frontline workers, people with chronic diseases and the elderly.”
Oman has so far logged 128,472 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, including 1,495 deaths -- the highest after Saudi Arabia which has recorded over 6,000 deaths.
Health Minister Ahmed Al-Saidi became one of the first citizens to receive a vaccine shortly after the campaign began on Sunday.
Also Read: Covid-19 vaccine dry run starts today in 4 states
The country had suspended commercial travel and also banned entry and exit through its land and sea borders last week in the wake of the discovery of a new strain of the novel coronavirus in Britain.
Oman is expecting to soon start receiving tourists, especially from its wealthy adjacent countries, to boost its economy that has been beaten badly by sinking oil prices and the global pandemic.