KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was the first citizen to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine today, marking the first shot in the massive National Immunisation Programme (NIP) that begins today.

Muhyiddin received his first dose at the Precinct 11 District Health office in Putrajaya that has also been designated as one of the 532 vaccination centres nationwide.

Dressed in corporate attire, Muhyiddin appeared calm as the vaccine was administered into his left arm.

Prior to receiving the shot, the prime minister received a briefing on the vaccine and signed a consent form before proceeding to the vaccine station.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah was also among other frontline personnel who received their shots today.

According to the fact sheet released by the Ministry of Health, those who received their Covid-19 jabs today include medical officer Dr Yee Ling and nurse Sheilla Mellissa Sikin stationed at the health clinic in Precinct 9, Putrajaya, assistant medical officer Khairul Asraf Mohd Yasin and driver Clement Marai Francis, working at the Putrajaya district health office.

After receiving their shots, they were led to the observation room, where they will be monitored for at least 15 minutes to 30 minutes for any side effects from the vaccine.

Also in attendance today were Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and Coordinating Minister for National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin, among others.

To recap, the vaccines will be administered in three phases. The government aims to prioritise its first batch of 500,000 vaccines for frontliners, especially in healthcare, police, Rela, Bomba and civil defence sectors. This will be carried out until April 2021. To boost confidence in the vaccine, Khairy earlier confirmed that the prime minister would be the first recipient of the national Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The second phase, which covers 9.4 million people, will include senior citizens above 60, people with non-communicable diseases and people with disabilities. The second vaccination phase is expected to run from April to August 2021.

For the remaining individuals including all adults aged 18 years and above, their vaccination will be in phase three that will run from May 2021 to February 2022.