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Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has received his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Langkawi on Sunday (Mar. 7).

Mahathir and wife receives first dose of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

The 95-year-old's wife, Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, was also administered her first jab, reported Malaysiakini.

Shortly after getting vaccinated, Mahathir urged Malaysians to sign up for the immunisation programme, adding that he did not face any side effects after getting his shot.

"As a senior citizen myself, I would not only like to encourage other senior citizens, but the younger ones too to get vaccinated," Mahathir wrote in his Facebook post.

"This is something that needs support. We should all encourage more people to get vaccinated so that we can curb the Covid-19 pandemic."

Malaysian minister to be first to receive Sinovac vaccine

As for the Sinovac vaccine, Malaysia's Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin will be the first person in the country to receive it, according to New Straits Times.

He previously said that he will be taking any Covid-19 vaccine that is approved next by the country's National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), in order to combat "selective vaccine hesitancy", reported The Star.

He confirmed that he will not be taking Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine.

The minister said that he decided to make the move to encourage people to receive whichever vaccine that was available to them, and to set an example for people who are still hesitant towards certain vaccines.

He noted that there are varying preferences towards both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Sinovac vaccines, but wanted to display his confidence in the NPRA and receive any vaccine that has been approved by the national agency.

"Whatever vaccine that crosses the line next, I will take that. And I don’t know which one that will be," the minister said.

"If it’s Sinovac, it will be Sinovac. If it’s the Russian vaccine, it will be the Russian vaccine. If it’s the AstraZeneca one, it will be that."

Top image via Mahathir Mohamad/Facebook