PASIR GUDANG, Feb 18 — About 18,000 health workers in Johor are scheduled to receive the Covid-19 vaccine that will be introduced in three phases as part of the National Covid-19 Immunisation programme.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said the first phase of the vaccination process will involve frontliners from the Ministry of Health (MoH).

“We are still identifying and completing the list of those who will receive the vaccine for the first phase.

“The vaccination is through an immunisation programme that is scheduled to be introduced at the end of this month or by next month,” said Hasni in a media conference after inspecting the Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre at the Pasir Gudang City Council Indoor Stadium here today.

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Present were Johor Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan, Johor Health director Datuk Dr Aman Rabu and Johor Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre operations commander Mohd Fathi Zaki Mohd Zakaria.

Hasni said Johor’s preparations for the state-level immunisation programme have been made in all district disaster management committees.

He said the focus will be to identify public halls or multipurpose halls that are to be used as vaccination centres.

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“We are confident that we have sufficient manpower to undertake the vaccination programme in the state,” said Hasni.

The first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is expected to arrive on February 21, with the vaccine’s inoculation to start on February 26.

Under the National Covid-19 Immunisation programme, there will be three phases involved where the first involves frontliners, from February 26 to April this year.

The second phase will run from April to October, involving high-risk groups; and the third phase, involving adults aged 18 and above, will take place from May 2021 to February next year.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said last Tuesday that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in the country this Sunday, while the implementation of the National Covid-19 Immunisation programme will begin in phases starting February 26.

Muhyiddin will receive the vaccine injection on the first day of the programme’s implementation together with frontline staff.