Oman delays second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus jab

Oman’s Ministry of Health said the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will be postponed, the daily Times of Oman reported.

“The delay has been caused by the manufacturer in supplying the agreed doses to Oman. This delay would include all countries of the world contracted by the company in order to expand the production lines resulting from the increased demand,” the report quoted the ministry.

Last week, Dubai said it was slowing down its rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine due to a temporary delay in global deliveries.

“The manufacturer has announced the expansion of the vaccine production capacity, which has temporarily affected several countries globally,” Dubai’s Health Authority said.
However, individuals should still show up for their second dose appointments.

On January 15, Pfizer announced a delay in shipments of the jabs in the next three to four weeks due to works at its key plant in Belgium.

Pfizer said the modifications at the Puurs factory were necessary in order to ramp up from mid-February production capacity of the vaccine developed with Germany’s BioNTech.

There will be ‘a significant increase’ in deliveries in late February and March, the US group promised. The European Commission also confirmed that pledged doses for the first quarter will arrive within the period.