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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will soon make an upfront payment of RM94,000 to access a Covid-19 vaccine, says Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
“The Cabinet decided on November 13 that Malaysia, through the Ministry of Health, will conclude its participation in the Covax facilities by signing the Optional Purchase Agreement.
“The ministry and the Covax alliance are looking for a date to sign the agreement,” he said in response to a question posed by Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) in Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Covax is a global initiative backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure fair and equitable access to the Covid-19 vaccine around the world.
Malaysia is expected to eventually pay around RM3bil for the vaccine to cover 10% of the population under the Covax facility agreement.
Khairy said the nation would make advance and shared guarantee payments of US $ 22.6 million (RM94 thousand) upon signing the agreement.
“Access to the vaccine is crucial to protect rakyat from the virus and stimulate the economy when vaccination becomes a requirement for travel and global movement,” added Khairy.
He stressed that although the country was signing the Covax facility agreement, Malaysia was taking a multi-pronged approach to seeking access to Covid-19 vaccines.
“The multi-front approach will open opportunities for the country to expand its options and decrease the risk of focusing on the bilateral approach,” he added.
The RM3bil allocation for a Covax plan was mentioned during the 2021 Budget presented on November 6.
The allocation for the Covax plan will be included as a consolidated special expense in the Covid-19 Fund.
Under the Covax agreement, Malaysia will have access to the vaccine to cover 10% of the population, while the vaccine for another 60% will come from other sources.
Priority for vaccination will be given to those battling Covid-19, followed by those in the high-risk categories and the adult population.
The 70% vaccination target is in line with the National Vaccine Policy of developing herd immunity for the nation.
As of November 13, WHO confirmed that 11 companies were in the third stage of vaccine trials.
On Monday, Khairy informed Dewan Rakyat that the government was in direct contact with eight vaccine producers and two through the Covax scheme.
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