Health authorities today said the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca is safe for use, three days after the country received its first batch of the shots bought through the Covax facility.

"I confirm the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca is safe, and it will be administered to those aged 60 years and older," Health Minister Adham Baba said in a televised news conference.

Malaysia received its first shipment of nearly 270,000 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine on Friday.

Health Ministry officials said the vaccine was found to be "suitable for use" for those aged 60 and older, and were looking into the available data before approving it for use for other age groups.