Saudi Arabia receives first shipment of vaccines

Saudi Arabia has received the first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine, Minister of Health Tawfiq al Rabiah said on Wednesday. Last week, the kingdom approved the use of the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech for use in the Gulf country. “I am happy to inform everyone, citizens and residents, of the arrival of the first shipment of the vaccine this morning,” Al Rabiah said, adding that the ministry will start vaccinations within days. The country became the first in the Gulf region to obtain the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia opened the door to registration to be vaccinated via a mobile application developed by the ministry. — dpa