Drive-through Covid-19 vaccination centres opened in four cities in Saudi Arabia this week in an effort to encourage more people to become inoculated.
Those wishing to visit the centres in Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah and Abha can register through the Ministry of Health's Sehhaty app.
The kingdom approved the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines and has administered 885,000 doses so far, Ministry of Health spokesman Dr Mohammed Al Abdulaali said on Tuesday.
#الصحة تدشن خدمة التطعيم ضد فيروس كورونا داخل السيارة في "الرياض، مكة المكرمة، المدينة المنورة، أبها".
— و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) February 28, 2021
يمكنكم حجز موعد لأخذ لقاح كورونا في أقرب مكان لكم عبر تطبيق صحتي:https://t.co/BnAPh0VtZR pic.twitter.com/6DSY6txgRG
Director of Community Health in Riyadh, Dr Mona Al Amer, said the new vaccine sites had proven popular with the public so far.
"On the test day, we served 20 people, the next day 200, and we are increasing the centre's capacity as possible," she told The National.
The initiative is to widen the availability of vaccines and will be expanded if demand increases, Dr Al Amer said.
"People who experienced the drive-in service so far are very pleased with it, it is easier for them as they don't need to get out of the car, and it is a faster process," she told The National.
When the initiative began, Makkah resident Haifa Ibrahim was particularly excited to sign her mother up for it.
"The moment I knew about the drive-through, I got excited for my mother, who is 80 years old. She was unwilling to take the vaccine in any centre regardless of location because she was scared and concerned about being surrounded by people who might be a source of virus transmission,” she said.
“Now I can convince her to go because she won't leave the car.”
The kingdom's second phase of coronavirus vaccinations began on February 18.
Cases continue to concern health authorities and the ministry said more groups could be inoculated.
It also increased the number of daily appointments and centres. The kingdom has established 259 centres.
