KUALA LUMPUR: After more than a year of “fighting' the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed more than 1,000 lives in Malaysia, the much-awaited vaccine is scheduled to arrive in the country today.

This historic moment is expected to happen at about 10 am with the arrival of the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on a Malaysia Airlines flight MH604, an Airbus ‪330-300‬ aircraft operated by MABkargo Sdn. Bhd (MASKargo).

The arrival of the passenger-to-cargo (P2C) flight, carrying 312,390 doses of the vaccine, will be welcomed by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, Science, Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin, who is also Technology and Innovation Minister, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), on its website, stated that the weather in the Sepang and Putrajaya districts for today is good, with a temperature of between 23 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius.

The arrival of the vaccine will kick-start the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, the largest vaccination programme ever in the country.

As one of the earliest countries in Southeast Asia to use the vaccine, Malaysia, with a population of 32 million people, is hopeful that the vaccination programme will restore the situation in the country back to normal.

The vaccine, which has been certified effective and approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) of the Health Ministry (MOH), is expected to protect the people from becoming the next victims of the deadly virus.

The immunisation program is divided into three phases, with the first, to start from Feb 26 to April 2021, is for frontline personnel, namely from MOH, Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Civil Defence Force (APM), Malaysian Volunteer Department (Rela) and others set by the government.

The MOH has identified and prepared 600 vaccination stations nationwide that include places such as health clinics as well as government and private hospitals, with each station to have seven vaccinators.

The second phase is from April to August 2021, for senior citizens aged 60 and above and the vulnerable group with morbidity problems, as well as persons with disabilities (PwD).

The third phase is from May 2021 to February 2022 for those aged 18 and above.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to receive the vaccine on the first day of implementation of the programme, along with the frontliners.

Last Jan 11, the government, through MOH and Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, signed an agreement for the delivery of the first phase of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT1262b vaccine to the country.

The agreement with Pfizer (Malaysia) involves the procurement of 12,799,800 doses of the vaccine to be supplied beginning end of February, for 20 per cent of the Malaysian population, with each person getting two doses.

-- BERNAMA