More than 150,000 people registered to receive the vaccine one day, one day after the kingdom received its first shipment.
Saudi Arabia has launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign, the Ministry of Health said, a day after it received two shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Images on al-Ekhbariya TV showed a man and a woman in a medical center in the capital, Riyadh, who were 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 ة ة السعودية (@SaudiMOH) December 17, 2020
Translation: His Excellency the Minister of Health receives the coronavirus vaccine (COVID-19).
Saudi Arabia received its first two shipments on Wednesday, becoming the first country in the Middle East to receive the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech. It approved the use of the vaccine last week.
The Saudi Arabian authorities asked people to register to get vaccinated via a mobile application; 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 bring it in [Ahmed Yosri/Reuters]
Citizens aged 65 and over, professionals at higher risk of COVID-19 exposure, as well as those with immune deficiency and chronic disease will be the first recipients of the vaccine.
In the second round, people over 50, health workers and people with specific chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes are vaccinated.
According to the Ministry of Health, the rest of the population will receive the third stage vaccine.
Saudi Arabia, which has a population of about 34 million, has recorded more than 360,000 coronavirus cases, including 6,000 deaths.
Earlier this month, the United Arab Emirates launched a vaccination program with another vaccine, Sinovac, after trials with Chinese company Sinopharm.