Saudi Arabia Begins Covid-19 Vaccination Drive; Over 150,000 Individuals Registered For Free-Of-Charge Doses

Saudi Arabia on Thursday started a vaccination programme for the novel coronavirus, the Health Ministry announced.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Thursday started a vaccination programme for the novel coronavirus, the Health Ministry announced.  In a tweet, Health Minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah, who received the vaccine, said: "In the last nine months, I was observing with concern the number of cases, today I will happily observe the number of people who will get the vaccine." The Kingdom received on Wednesday the first shipment of the vaccine. The Ministry of Health had announced on Tuesday the start of registration for the coronavirus vaccine, starting from Wednesday, for all citizens and expatriates in the country. They can register, through the ministry's mobile application of Sehhaty (My Health). More than 150,000 individuals registered to receive the free-of-charge vaccine. The three-stage vaccination process covers citizens and residents in the country who wish to receive the vaccine. The ministry confirmed the safety and efficacy of the vaccine after the effective passage of the vaccine testing phases, and the successful tests showed its strong immune response and antibodies in those who received trial shots. As of Thursday, Saudi Arabia has reported a total of 360,335 coronavirus cases and 6,080 deaths. WATCH  | Myths and facts of coronavirus vaccine