COVID-19 vaccines in KAUST
KAUST Health will now be making available COVID-19 vaccines for those aged 12 years and over and for those aged 5-11 years on a regular weekly basis while supplies last. Appointments for the vaccine at KAUST Health are available on:
- Those aged 12 and older: Monday and Wednesday from 13:00 to 16:00. Bookings can be made here.
- Those aged 5 to 11 years old: Sunday and Tuesday from 15:00 to 16:30. Bookings can be made here.
Please ensure that if you book a vaccine slot you attend and do so at the appropriate date and time.
In addition to those available in KAUST Health, vaccine appointments for everyone age 5 and up remain available through Sehhaty and Tawakkalna for locations in Jeddah and the region. Please make sure you upload the vaccine to the KAUST vaccine monitoring form.
COVID-19 symptoms
The symptoms for COVID-19 are similar to infection with other common viruses such as cold and flu. If an individual thinks they have developed COVID-19 symptoms and are concerned, they should follow the advice below which is also on the Keeping KAUST Safe website.
For those with mild symptoms (e.g. mild fever, runny nose, sore throat):
- Isolate at home
- Remain out of work or class until the symptoms have gone
- There is no need to contact KAUST Health for triage or testing
- If you complete an at-home self-swab test and the result is positive, isolate at home for seven days.
For those with more severe symptoms (e.g. high persistent fever, new cough, shortness of breath) and/or who are a known contact of a positive case in the same household as a positive case:
- Isolate at home
- Contact KAUST Health for assessment and advice
For severe or acute symptoms of emergency nature as below, call 911 (012 808 0911 from mobile):
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion or inability to be woken
- Bluish lips or face
COVID-19 quarantine/isolation
Following the recent changes to quarantine regulations, the below clarifies the current requirements for quarantine in KAUST.
Positive cases
- Isolate for seven days from the date of the positive swab
- No COVID-19 test will be required on exit from quarantine: the Tawakkalna status will automatically change from ‘brown’ to ‘dark green/immune’
- If you live in KAUST, but had your positive test conducted outside of KAUST Health, please call 808 4444 to register your positive status
Contact tracing
Symptomatic
- All direct contacts with symptoms, irrespective of immunization status, should self-isolate at home. Further information about COVID symptoms and protocols can be found here.
Asymptomatic
- Any household contacts of a positive case who are not fully vaccinated will be required to quarantine for a period of seven days
- Any other contact of a positive case who was following masking and distance requirements does not need to quarantine or test
Face covering guidance changes in KAUST
Cases of COVID-19 have dropped noticeably in the last week, and are much lower than early January when we were first experiencing a large number of Omicron cases. Effective immediately, face coverings are no longer required outside in KAUST when practicing physical distancing. Please refer to the face covering guidance on the Keeping KAUST Safe site for more information.
February 13 COVID-19 update
As of February 13, there were 64 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed at KAUST since the last bulletin on February 6.
In the last seven days, the majority of cases have been found from symptomatic testing, with the remainder from pre-departure travel testing.
The 14-day positivity rate* at KAUST is currently NA% as of February 13, 2022.
We remind all community members that we are currently operating in Keeping KAUST Safe Tier 1B.
* Positivity rate = % of positive tests returned from the total number of tests taken during a 14-day period. Excludes where the result is still pending or the swab was rejected.
** This rate will only be displayed if the number of tests conducted achieves a given significant threshold (724 tests). Over the past 14-day period, 681 tests were conducted, with 204 positive cases.
Where to turn when you need to know
- Facilities Management – 012 (808) 0959 or email FMCallcenter@kaust.edu.sa
- Human Resources – 012 (808) 2055 or email HRHelpdesk@kaust.edu.sa
- Health, Safety & Environment – visit the website
- Graduate Affairs – 012 (808) 3412 or schelpdesk@kaust.edu.sa
- KAUST Health – 012 (808) 0940 or visit the KAUST Health website
- Wellness services – visit the Health, Safety and Environment website
