Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin (pix) said Malaysia's shipment is not considered late although other countries had received their vaccine supplies earlier by making deposit payments before safety and effectiveness data were published.

Indonesia's Food and Drug Authority green-lighted emergency use authorization of the vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd., after the country's highest Islamic body last week said the shot is fit for consumption by Muslims.

The Ministry of Public Health has requested further information about the vaccine it has ordered from China following a report it might not be as effective as first thought.

After covering Turkey's 1.1 million healthcare workers, the vaccination programme will move on to essential workers and people aged 65 and above. For example, Japan placed its order for the Pfizer vaccine in July 2020 and will receive it in February, which is the same time as us. Health officials have also noted it will be hard to keep the vaccine at the required 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit (about 2-8 degrees Celsius) to maintain its safety and effectiveness.

The CoronaVac vaccine was developed by China's Sinovac Biotech company.

"We need to do the vaccination to stop the chain spread of COVID-19 and give health protection to us and the safety to all Indonesian people".

Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, plans to vaccinate two-thirds of its population of about 270 million people - or just over 180 million people.

'There are some people doing negative campaigning (about vaccinations) but I am sure common sense will prevail, ' Erdogan said as a masked doctor stabbed him with a needle while a nurse put a comforting arm on his shoulder.

The rollout comes as Indonesia registered the daily record in COVID-19 infections and fatalities on Wednesday, with 11,278 new cases and 306 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has received the Chinese coronavirus vaccine as he kick starts his country's immunisation drive.

The Sinovac vaccine underwent studies in Turkey, Brazil and Indonesia, and there's uncertainty over just how protective it is.

"We are a small country but we will easily overcome this", Pilli said.

Indonesia was also receiving Chinese maker Sinovac's vaccine ahead of Malaysia because it conducted phase three clinical trials internally.

"We do not have the full scientific results for the Sinovac vaccine; they are limited and a bit confusing regarding the efficacy", Fincanci told Al-Monitor.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday he was right to criticize the credibility of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech that posted disappointing efficacy results in local trials.