PRAGUE — The vaccination program in the Czech Republic is picking up speed with a record nearing 30,000 inoculated in one day.

Health Ministry says 28,890 people received a shot Wednesday for a total of 735,131. Over a quarter of million got both shots in the nation of 10.7 million.

After an initial slow rollout of Western vaccines, the government says the country is expected more than 1 million doses in March and around 2.5 million in April. By June, more than a total of 10 million should be available.

Extra 100,000 Pfizer vaccines from the EU expected to arrive next week will help speed up the vaccinations.

Health Minister Jan Blatny says about 35,000 a day will be inoculated in March, and up to 100,000 a day in April.

Blatny told Parliament “there’s no reason to seek unauthorized vaccines,” such as Russia’s Sputnik V and China’s Sinopharm.

President Milos Zeman known for his pro-Russian and pro-Chinese views has asked his Russian and Chinese counterparts to send their vaccines to his country. Prime minister Andrej Babis says they should be used on a voluntary basis. The parliamentary opposition rejects using vaccines unregistered in the EU.