KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Final preparations to receive the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday had been going smoothly, said Health deputy director-general (Research and Technical Support) Datuk Dr Hishamshah Mohd Ibrahim.

He said detailed preparations carried out earlier which included dry runs on the delivery of the vaccines to storage facilities and to other states went smoothly, and training were also given to health workers who would be administering the vaccine.

He said the Ministry of Health (MOH) is fully prepared for the vaccine distribution and MOH Pharmaceutical Services Division would take care of the logistics and ensure that the vaccines are stored properly.

"Through the dry runs we could identify the problems that we may face and ways to solve them,so that when the vaccines arrive, all will go well.

"MOH procurement division has also received supply of 55 freezers to store the vaccines and they have been placed at the vaccine storage centres which have been identified,” he said on Bernama TV talk show Ruang Bicara last night.

In addition Dr Hishamshah said the existing storage boxes with ultra low temperature have been placed at the MOH vaccine storage and Malaysian Armed Forces facilities and these would be additional storage space for the vaccines.

As such, MOH will not encounter difficulties in storing the first batch of the vaccines, he said.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Malaysia would receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this Sunday and the first phase of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme would begin on February 26. — Bernama