RIYADH: Almost 300,000 people have received the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia, the health ministry said on Sunday.

“The vaccine is the key and the powerful weapon that will make us healthy,” ministry spokesperson Dr. Mohammed Al-Abd Al-Aly said.

He said citizens and residents who have a valid national identity number or residence number are eligible to receive the vaccine through the “Sehaty” app.

Al-Abd Al-Aly also said that no side effects of the vaccine have been detected so far.

“The indicators of recording confirmed cases, recoveries and critical cases in the Kingdom are moving toward positivity and decline,” he told reporters.

Saudi Arabia started its inoculation campaign on Dec. 17 and was the first Arab country to use the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Saudi Arabia confirmed 176 new cases on Sunday, raising the total to 364,929 cases, of which 1,919 are active cases still receiving medical care, and 319 critical cases.

The Kingdom also confirmed five deaths related to the virus in the previous 24 hours and 146 people had recovered.

Al-Abd Al-Aly added that centers and facilities affiliated with the Ministry of Health are continuing to provide health services, including conducting tests and examinations, across the Kingdom.