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KUALA LUMPUR: The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) under the Ministry of Health has received clinical data from Pfizer on the Covid-19 vaccine, says Khairy Jamaluddin.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovations said the decision to use the Pfizer vaccine rests with the NPRA, which would need to register and approve the vaccine, and the Ministry of Health.
“The process has begun and NPRA will review all the data provided by Pfizer.
“Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine supply is expected to be received in the first quarter of next year, comprising 12.8 million doses, to help immunize 20% or 6.4 million Malaysians,” Khairy said in response to Lim Guan Eng (PH- Bagan) during Ministerial Question Time at Dewan Rakyat here on Thursday (December 17).
Lim had asked why the Pfizer vaccine was chosen over the vaccines produced by other companies, including those in the United States, China and Russia.
He also asked about differences in terms of cost and effectiveness.
Khairy said the government signed the deal with Pfizer on November 24 and was chosen based on interim clinical reports published in The New England Journal of Medicine, which showed that the vaccine had a 95% efficacy rate in preventing Covid-19 infections.
The government had also obtained access to data to investigate the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine, he added.
“The vaccine has also received Emergency Use Authorization from seven countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Singapore,” he noted.
Khairy added that the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee is investigating other vaccine candidates that are in phase three of clinical trials.
“The announcement on this, as well as the priority list of who gets vaccinated first, will be announced in the near future,” he said.
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