More than 150,000 people registered in one day to get the vaccine, a day after the kingdom received its first shipment.
Saudi Arabia has launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign, the Ministry of Health said, a day after receiving two shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Al-Ekhbariya television videos showed a man and a woman at a medical center in the capital, Riyadh, getting vaccinated on Thursday.
Shortly afterwards, Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah received the vaccine.
معالي وزير الصحة يتلقى لقاح كورونا (كوفيد -19). pic.twitter.com/LsgJ0g79YW
– و ز ا ر ة ا لـ صـ حـ ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) December 17, 2020
Translation: Excellency the Minister of Health receives the coronavirus vaccine (COVID-19).
Saudi Arabia received its first two shipments on Wednesday, becoming the first Middle Eastern country to obtain the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. Last week he approved the use of the vaccine.
Saudi authorities asked people to register to be vaccinated using a mobile app; more than 150,000 people registered in 24 hours.
Saudi Arabia received the first two shipments on Wednesday, becoming the first in the region to receive it. [Ahmed Yosri/Reuters]
Citizens 65 years of age or older, professionals at higher risk of COVID-19 exposure, as well as people with immune deficiencies and chronic diseases will be the first recipients of the vaccine.
In the second round, people over the age of 50, health professionals and people with specific chronic diseases, such as asthma and diabetes, will be vaccinated.
The rest of the population will get the vaccine in the third phase, according to the health ministry.
Saudi Arabia, with a population of about 34 million, has reported more than 360,000 cases of coronavirus, including 6,000 deaths.
Earlier this month, the UAE launched a vaccination program using another vaccine, Sinovac, after conducting trials with Chinese company Sinopharm.