Saudi Arabia’s official media said that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the leader of Saudi Arabia, received his first COVID-19 vaccine jab more than three weeks after the country started its three-phased inoculation drive, reported AFP. 

The Saudi Press Agency said, “King Salman received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the futuristic Red Sea city of Neom”. 

Pictures and videos of the vaccine administration have also been shared by the official media. 

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After receiving its first consignment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Kingdom started its campaign on December 17th, 2020. 

The country’s health ministry stated that the vaccination drive will be carried out in three phases, starting with vaccinating people with underlying conditions and those who were over the age of 65. 

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In the second phase, people over the age of 50 will be vaccinated while the final phase included everyone. The ministry added that the vaccine would be free of any costs for residents and citizens of the Kingdom. 

Saudi Arabia, having a population of over 34 million, recorded over 3,63,000 cases with more than 6000 deaths, the highest in Gulf states.