PUTRAJAYA: Fresh from receiving the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin described the process as painless and likened it to “any normal injection”.
“I didn’t feel anything. I had asked (the nurse) to wait but the next thing I knew it was over. You can also ask Tan Sri (Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah).
“So, don’t worry, come forward anytime (and get vaccinated), ” he said when asked about his experience.
The Prime Minister kicked off the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme by being the first person in the country to get the vaccine.
The programme began two days ahead of the initial schedule of Feb 26.
He received his first dose at the Precinct 11 health clinic after chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday, and his second dose is scheduled for March 17.
Expressing confidence that the vaccine is safe and effective, Muhyiddin has called on all Malaysians and others residing in the country to get themselves vaccinated against Covid-19.
Getting vaccinated, he said, would help break the chain of infection.
The Prime Minister urged the public to be confident of the vaccination programme, as it’s vital to putting a stop to the pandemic in the country.
“I call on everyone to support this effort so that Malaysia will be free of Covid-19 soon, ” he said.
He reiterated the government’s decision that vaccination would be free for all in Malaysia, including foreigners, stressing that the public should register via the MySejahtera app for their turn to be vaccinated.
Aside from the Prime Minister, Dr Noor Hisham and four other staff members of the Health Ministry received the vaccine.
The first batch of 312,390 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived on Sunday, and is expected to be administered to 271,802 frontliners, 57.3% of whom comprise medical personnel while the rest will be non-medical frontliners.