Around 10,000 people have already taken a vaccine against COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom is conducting its largest vaccination campaign, a media report said Thursday.

The number of the people who have received injections at a vaccination centre in Riyadh has surpassed 10,000, Al Arabiya television reported, citing initial figures.

Some 500,178 people have, meanwhile, registered for taking the vaccine since registration opened on December 15, the Saudi Health Ministry said.

“The vaccine is safe, authorized, effective and does not affect the genes,” the ministry said on its Twitter account.

The kingdom started vaccinations against COVID-19 a week ago after receiving batches of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the disease.

Registration for the vaccine is available for Saudis and expatriates in the kingdom through the smart app “Sehhaty” by visiting http://onelink.to/yjc3nj.

Saudi authorities have said the vaccine is provided for free for citizens and foreign residents.

Vaccination priority is given to those aged over 65, people at a high risk of infection due to their jobs, and those suffering from obesity, chronic diseases or immunity deficiency.

SOURCE GULFNEWS