Kuwait begins nationwide coronavirus vaccination drive

KUWAIT CITY (AA) - Kuwait started on Thursday a nationwide coronavirus vaccination drive, paving the way for an end to the pandemic, the state-run Kuwait News Agency reported.

The Gulf country had authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine earlier this month.

Prime Minister Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah received the first jab to mark the beginning of the immunization. He said the vaccine is "safe to use" and has been approved by several international bodies.

The early hours of the campaign saw the attendance of elderly and frontline workers at the Kuwait International Fair grounds in Mishrif.

Cabinet Affairs Minister Anas al-Saleh had said that after the premier, those registering online will be inoculated.

In a tweet, Health Minister Bassel al-Sabah thanked God for the campaign to have begun and urged everyone to register.

Kuwait has registered 148,773 COVID-19 infections and 924 related deaths to date.

*Bassel Barakat and Waleed Tariq contributed to this report