KUALA LUMPUR: Citizens who are not in the first group of COVID-19 inoculation are asked to continue to be patient and remain supportive of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Program.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in a latest post on his Facebook said he also hoped that the people would continue to register when registration opens and get vaccinated according to schedule.

He explained that vaccination is very important in the effort to form herd immunity, thus reducing the impact of COVID-19 in the country.

“I also hope that those who are eligible for vaccination will register when registration opens in the near future and get their respective vaccine injections as scheduled.

"This vaccination is very important for all of us to form herd immunity by ensuring that at least 80 per cent of the adult population in Malaysia receives the vaccine.

“This can directly prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection from getting worse," he said.

Earlier, the Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Program Khairy Jamaluddin said Muhyiddin and Director General of Health Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah will be the earliest recipients on the first day of vaccination on February 24.

In a press conference in conjunction with the receipt of the first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) earlier today, he said, a total of 571,802 frontline staff have registered for the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Commenting further, the Prime Minister said, the first phase between February to April 2021 is for the frontline workers.

The second phase, between April to August 2021, he said, is specifically for the group of senior citizens aged 65 and above and the high-risk group as well as people with disabilities (OKU) involving 9.4 million people.

Meanwhile, the third phase, between May to February 2022, is for residents in Malaysia aged 18 years and above (citizens and non-citizens) with a target of more than 13.7 million people.

"For those who are classified in phase 2 and 3, I hope you can be patient and continue to support the government's efforts to implement the National COVID-19 Immunisation Program while the vaccination process for the phase 1 groups is done," he added.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also expressed his appreciation to those who are directly and indirectly involved in the effort to bring vaccines to this country.

Congratulations and well done to the Special Vaccine Access Assurance Committee and all parties and agencies involved, especially the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), Ministry of Transport, and Malaysia Airlines Berhad to ensure the vaccine supply arrives safely in Malaysia.

"Protect yourself, protect everyone," he added.