National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Is Malaysia's Biggest Vaccination Effort - PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme which is set to roll out at the end of this month is the biggest vaccination effort ever implemented in Malaysia, according to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. He said 80 per cent of the country’s population, or approximately 26.5 people, are expected to receive the vaccine free of charge. “The COVID-19 vaccine is the crucial silver lining for us to win the war against COVID-19. The government has managed to secure access to the vaccine and the first shipment of the supply is expected to arrive this month. “The first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine comprises those produced by Pfizer and BioNTech which has shown a very high efficacy rate of 95 per cent,” he said in a special message aired on national television channels and social media platforms on Thursday. Muhyiddin said the immunisation programme will be carried out in three phases with the first involving some 500,000 medical and non-medical frontliners. -- BERNAMA