The first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19  vaccine arrived in Malaysia on Sunday – 312,390 doses that were flown to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang are part of a total of 32 million doses Malaysia is procuring from US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc to battle the pandemic.

The next batch is scheduled to arrive on Friday, and subsequent shipments are expected to be delivered every two weeks.

Malaysia plans to begin inoculating its people against the coronavirus on Wednesday. According to the minister in charge of the national immunisation program, Khairy Jamaluddin, the inoculation program’s start has been brought forward by two days from Friday at the government’s discretion.

Health workers and other front-line workers will be inoculated in the first phase, including Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Senior citizens, high-risk groups, and those in the general public aged 18 and older will come after.

Foreigners, including undocumented migrants, will also be given shots free of charge. Khairy reiterated the government’s assurance that undocumented migrants would not be detained when they receive the vaccine.

The national immunisation program is expected to run through February 2022for its entire population of 32 million people, with vaccine supplies coming from Britain’s AstraZeneca Plc and companies in China and Russia.

Malaysia reported 3,297 new virus cases on Sunday, and has logged a total of 283,569 cases and 1,056 fatalities.

New Zealand (NZ) will begin to offer free COVID-19 vaccines to all of the country’s 5 million people by the middle of next year. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that “NZ’s largest immunisation roll-out ever” is thanks to vaccines secured from pharmaceutical companies Pfizer-BioNTech (1.5 million doses, AstraZeneca (7.6 million doses) and Novavax (10.72 million doses). The vaccines require two doses to be administered.

Ardern said the government will vaccinate border staff and rescue workers from the second quarter of 2021, and the general public in the second half of next year.

“Never before has the entire globe sought to vaccinate the entire population at the same time. This will be a sustained roll out over months, not weeks, but our pre-purchase agreements means NZ is well positioned to get on with it as soon as it is proven safe to do so.”

Read: FDA approves booster dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for US citizens

The start of COVID-19 immunisations would not lead to any immediate changes to the country’s closed borders, said COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins. Hipkins added that the health ministry has purchased nine large minus 80 degree Celsius freezers to store the vaccines, scheduled to arrive in NZ by the end of the year.

NZ is among a handful of countries that managed to contain COVID-19 within its borders. There have been 25 deaths and 1,744 confirmed COVID-19 cases so far.