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PUTRAJAYA: Khairy Jamaluddin has “communicated” to the Public Accounts Committee that he is prepared to provide details on the country’s vaccine purchasing initiatives.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, however, indicated that everything shared would be subject to non-disclosure and confidentiality clauses.
“I can and am willing to share information on vaccine purchases and negotiations.
“However, no information can leave the meeting room as the government is bound by confidentiality agreements with pharmaceutical companies,” he told the media here on Wednesday (December 23).
Khairy said he is prepared to explain to the PAC the many questions that arise about purchasing.
He added that the government had signed non-disclosure agreements, as the companies involved required it.
“Malaysia is not the only country that had to sign the NDAs. All countries that negotiate the purchase of vaccines are bound by these agreements,” he said.
On Tuesday (December 22), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the government had signed an agreement with AstraZeneca for the acquisition of an additional 10% or 6.4 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine.
He said the government is also in final negotiations with Sinovac, CanSino and Gamaleya to secure an increased supply of vaccines to cover more than 80% or 26.5 million of the country’s total population.
The government had previously signed preliminary agreements with Covax and Pfizer for the acquisition of their Covid-19 vaccines to ensure a supply that would cover 30% of the population.
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