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REMBAU (Bernama): Malaysia has returned 585 damaged vials of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to the manufacturer, said National COVID-19 Immunization Program Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (Photo).
The science, technology and innovation minister said the damage occurred when the vials were not stored at the proper temperature during the delivery process from the manufacturing factory in Belgium to Malaysia.
“We discovered that on the way from Belgium to Malaysia, the storage temperature increased from -70 ° C to a temperature not accepted by the Ministry of Health,” he told reporters after visiting the vaccine administration center at the Clinic of Rembau health here on Wednesday (March 10).
He said the number of damaged vials was small, adding that Pfizer would replace the vials shipped to them.
Meanwhile, Khairy said that people who have turned 17 this year could register for the COVID-19 vaccine through the MySejahtera app to receive the vaccine next year.
When asked if the goal set to vaccinate all 500,000 frontline workers could be achieved this month, Khairy said that at least every frontline worker would receive the first dose during the first phase of the immunization program if all Pfizer vaccines BioNTech arrive according to the original schedule.
He added that if there were delays from Pfizer, those who were scheduled to receive the vaccine during the first phase would receive their injections in April.
Responding to a statement that said the government would face a challenge in administering the vaccine to 150,000 recipients per day, he said the number was set for the third phase after a mega immunization center is established, adding that the focus now is to inoculate the vaccine. first line.
Meanwhile, the Rembau deputy said that his ministry will join forces with non-governmental organizations and local authorities to identify the best approach to ensure that the homeless receive the Covid-19 vaccine, as they are part of 80% of the recipients among members of the public. . – Bernama
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