Qatar announced Monday that it received its first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, hours after the Ministry of Health authorized its use, indicating that the vaccinations will be free for everyone.

Agence France-Presse correspondents at Doha International Airport saw 14 boxes containing doses of the vaccine being unloaded on a plane that came from Brussels.

State TV quoted Abdul Latif Al-Khal, head of the National Strategic Group for Combating COVID-19, as saying that the vaccination operations will start Wednesday and will include the elderly and medical personnel in the first phase.

In a statement to France Press, Al-Khal explained that the vaccination will be free and optional.

This first shipment of the vaccine arrived hours after the Ministry of Health announced that it had licensed the use of this vaccine, which is "one of the two vaccines contracted by the Ministry of Health to purchase and obtain them."

The second vaccine that Qatar intends to obtain is produced by the American company "Moderna."

Qatar has officially recorded more than 142,000 COVID-19 cases and 243 deaths.