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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s total acquisition of 32 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will be enough to cover half its population, says Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin.
“(The Minister of Health), Dr. Adham (Baba) should sign the agreement within the next two days,” he told reporters after his visit yesterday to the Universiti Malaya Medical Center (UMMC), which functions as a dispensing center. of vaccines.
The next delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is scheduled for tomorrow.
Malaysia received its first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on February 21 to start the first phase of its National Covid-19 Immunization Program from February 26 to the end of March.
Frozen vaccine vials can be stored at temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for up to two weeks, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
On the latest status of bottle tests for the vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, Khairy said that the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency required 30 days for stability testing to ensure it had the same stability as the finished product in China.
“They want to do a stability analysis to make sure there will be no problem when the vaccine is bottled here.
“If approval is given, we can launch the Sinovac vaccine next month,” he said.
The government was also expected, he added, to announce the details of the special protection plan to compensate those who experienced serious side effects from the Covid-19 vaccination next Monday.
Khairy said that in the second phase of the immunization program, people identified as high-risk people could be vaccinated regardless of their age.
“The second phase will not only be for the elderly or people with chronic diseases. Those who are less than 60 years old but have been diagnosed with a chronic disease such as heart problems or diabetes will be included, ”he said.
The government, he added, was also considering issuing exemption certificates for those who cannot receive the Covid-19 vaccine due to serious health reasons.
“We are still refining the vaccine passport issue,” he said.
Those who receive the Covid-19 vaccine will obtain a digital certificate, with updated information with the World Health Organization and other countries.
“This is so Malaysians can use it as proof that they have received the vaccine.
“However, based on the principle of fairness or fairness, for those who cannot receive the vaccine, for example, those who are immunosuppressed or have severe allergies, we are considering a special exemption certificate.
“I think we have to be fair to those people who cannot get the vaccine,” he said.
Khairy, who is the Coordinating Minister for the Immunization Program, said the government was in the midst of devising strategies for homeless people, undocumented migrants and refugees to get vaccinated.
He said a meeting would be held with representatives of the Kuala Lumpur City Council to discuss ways to include the homeless, as well as with non-governmental organizations representing groups such as the homeless, refugees and undocumented migrants.
On the subject of the tail jump, Khairy said they were trying to identify those people.
“They told me it’s not their fault. Their names were included. The information was not clear to the Vaccine Dispensing Center.
“(It’s not) that they cut (the tail, but suddenly, their names were included. (It’s) not that they asked for it.
“The center had included it, so it was an oversight,” he said.
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