PORT DICKSON, Feb 20 — A total of 26,500 Malaysian Army (TDM) personnel will be among the first phase recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme scheduled for Feb 26.
Chief of Army General Tan Sri Zamrose Mohd Zain said army personnel stationed at red zones would be given the priority in receiving the vaccine to reduce the spread of the virus.
“Each personnel will receive two doses, so, we will receive more than 52,000 doses…insya-Allah, with the cooperation of all parties, I hope all frontliners in the red zones can be vaccinated as soon as possible,” he told reporters after a passing-out parade of young soldiers at the Basic Army Training Centre here today.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to arrive in Malaysia tomorrow and the immunisation exercise is divided into three phases, with the first phase from February 26 to April 2021 for the frontliners, the second phase from April to August 2021 for those in high-risk groups and the third phase from May 2021 to February 2022 for adults aged 18 and above.
In another development, Zamrose said TDM is planning to replace the Condor 4×4 armored personal carrier (APC) and the Scorpion armored vehicle.
“(The replacement) will be done in phases, as mandated by the Ministry of Defence, and we will give priority to local products,” he said.
