Saudi Arabia begins coronavirus vaccinations on Thursday, the Ministry of Health said, a day after it received two shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Footage on al-Ekhbariya TV showed a man and a woman at a medical centre in the capital Riyadh getting vaccinated.
Shortly after, Minister of Health, Tawfiq al-Rabiah received the vaccine.
The kingdom received the first two shipments on Wednesday, becoming the first in the region to obtain it.
Earlier, the kingdom approved the use of the vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech.
Authorities asked people to register to be vaccinated via a mobile application developed by the ministry. More than 150,000 people registered in 24 hours.
The rollout is divided into three stages, with priority given to those aged 65 or older, health workers and those suffering from chronic diseases.
The second stage is expected to target those who are over 50, while the final stage will make the vaccine available for the rest of the population.
The kingdom previously said the COVID-19 vaccines would be made available to its citizens and foreign residents for free.
Saudi Arabia, which has a population of some 34 million, has recorded more than 360,000 Coronavirus cases, including 6,000 deaths.
(dpa/NAN)
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