Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin kicked off the country's largest COVID-19 immunization exercise on Wednesday by becoming the first to get the vaccine jab.

The cancer-survivor was calm as he received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in an event telecast live from a coronavirus vaccination center in the federal administrative capital Putrajaya.

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is vaccinated for COVID-19 on Feb. 24, 2021, in Putrajaya, Malaysia. (Photo courtesy of Malaysian government)(Kyodo)

"I am confident the vaccine is safe and effective. Looking at my condition thus far, praise be to God," he said after the jab.

He urged all Malaysians and foreigners residing here to come forward to receive the free vaccine so that the country can break the chain of infection.

Muhyiddin will receive his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine within 21 days to complete the inoculation process.


Related coverage:

1st batch of coronavirus vaccine arrives in Thailand


Malaysia purchased 32 million doses of the vaccine from the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. The first batch of 312,390 doses arrived Sunday.

The country also has deals with other vaccine suppliers, including Britain's AstraZeneca Plc and companies in China and Russia. It has secured enough doses for its entire population of 32 million people.

Health workers and other front-line workers will be inoculated in the first phase, followed by senior citizens and high-risk groups. Those in the general public aged 18 and older will be after that.

The entire program is expected to run through February next year.

Malaysia reported 2,468 new virus cases on Tuesday, with 14 deaths. The country has logged a total of 288,229 cases and 1,076 fatalities.