Senior citizens aged 65 to 74 and people with chronic respiratory diseases will begin to receive their first COVID-19 vaccinations this week.

According to the state vaccine task force on Wednesday, five-point-14 million senior citizens and around eight-thousand with chronic illnesses will start receiving AstraZeneca shots at some 12-thousand-800 medical facilities nationwide on Thursday.

As of Tuesday, three-point-48 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine remained available, with another four-point-five million slated for delivery by the first week of June.

From June 7, those aged between 60 and 64 as well as teachers and caretakers will be able to receive their first AstraZeneca shots.