Experts Discuss Progress, Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccine During KAIMRC Forum

King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC)
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC)
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Experts Discuss Progress, Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccine During KAIMRC Forum

King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC)
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC)

International scientists and medical experts discussed the global challenges and prospects related to the development of vaccines for the coronavirus disease during the 11th KAIMRC Annual Forum for Medical Research.

The two-day forum, organized by King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), launched virtually in Riyadh on November 04, under the title “COVID-19 Vaccine: Global Challenges and Prospects.”

The forum comes as part of programs and international conferences held under Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20.

About 32 international experts from global academic institutions including the Universities of Oxford, Harvard, and Stanford participated in the 10 scientific sessions of the forum done over videoconference.

Specialists discussed the latest developments in vaccine production and reviewed the currently produced vaccines, clinical studies, and the future availability of the vaccine.

CEO of National Guard-Health Affairs Bandar al-Knawy affirmed that the forum contributes to enabling scientists, researchers, doctors, and companies to discuss the performance and the timetable for the production and global distribution of the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Health announced there are 7,871 active cases in the country, most of which are in good condition.

In addition, 441 more patients recovered from the disease on Wednesday, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 335,594.

Meanwhile, the total number of people that have now contracted COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia reached 348,936, with 426 new cases confirmed on Wednesday, while the Health Ministry reported 15 new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the death toll to 5,471.

The ministry said it had conducted 63,643 new PCR tests in the past 24 hours.



Saudi Arabia to Host Talks between US, Russian, Ukrainian Officials on Monday

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures as he attends a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures as he attends a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 12, 2025. (Reuters)
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Saudi Arabia to Host Talks between US, Russian, Ukrainian Officials on Monday

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures as he attends a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 12, 2025. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures as he attends a press conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 12, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday Ukrainian experts would be present at upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia involving the United States and Russia, but will not be in the same room as Russia, as a diplomatic push to end the war intensifies.

Russian and US experts are due to discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea at talks on a possible peace settlement in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the Kremlin said.

"There will be technical teams present there," Zelenskiy said during a visit to Norway.

"I understand that the structure is the following: there will be a meeting of Ukraine and America and then some shuttle diplomacy, as our American colleagues said, America with Russia," he told a press conference with Norway's premier.

Zelenskiy said on Wednesday Kyiv would draw up a list of facilities that could be subject to a partial ceasefire brokered by Washington. That list could include not only energy, but also rail and port infrastructure, he said.

Negotiators from Moscow and the US will meet Monday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign affairs adviser Sergei Ushakov told Russian news agencies.

US President Donald Trump and Zelenskiy agreed on Wednesday to work together to end Russia's war with Ukraine, in what the White House described as a "fantastic" one-hour phone call, their first conversation since their Oval Office shouting match that resulted in a short-term cutoff in US military aid and intelligence to Kyiv.

Trump said on Thursday the United States will sign a minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine shortly and that his efforts to achieve a peace deal for the country were going "pretty well" after his talks this week with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

Ukraine and the US said this month they had agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine's critical mineral resources, which Trump sees as a means to pay back the United States for its assistance to Kyiv.