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KUALA LUMPUR, December 22 – A health watchdog has defended the government from criticism of its effort to secure Covid-19 vaccines, calling most attacks “misinformation, misinformation, and conspiracy theories” unfounded by “Opportunists”.
Among those who spread the false information were politicians, noted the Galen Center for Health and Social Policy, who expressed concern that such attacks may undermine and erode public confidence in ongoing efforts to ensure safe and effective vaccines. .
The group’s chief executive, Azrul Mohd Khalib, said critics have begun to attack the government’s vaccine procurement strategy, with allegations ranging from overpaying to misleading the public about how much will be spent on these life-saving therapies.
“While much of the confusion is due to the complexity of purchasing pharmaceuticals, a large part of the attacks have been based on misinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories that continue to persist in the face of the facts,” Azrul said in a statement issued today.
“Close scrutiny is necessary when it comes to public funds. However, opportunists, including anti-vaccines in Malaysia, have jumped on the vaccine issue and politicized it, “he added.
Much of the criticism was intensified by the disclosure of vaccine prices by Belgian Secretary of State for Budget Eva De Bleeker, the center suggested.
This has sparked, among others, rumors that the Malaysian government was overpaying for its own batch of vaccines, expected to be delivered next year.
Azrul called the criticism, which suggested Belgium was paying less for its vaccines, misplaced and inaccurate, and that critics had possibly misrepresented “deliberately or out of ignorance.”
“The vaccine price list recently shared by the Belgian minister is for the European Union (EU) as a bloc, which has a population of 447 million, larger than the entire population of the United States,” he said.
“(But) it’s not just about prices for Belgium. The EU price is also for a single dose, ”he added.
According to news reports, Belgium will buy more than 33 million doses for a total of 279 million euros (about 1.38 billion ringgit) for its population of 12 million.
With the exception of the Johnson & Johnson candidate, the vaccines require two doses to be effective, the center noted.
“The volume and the economic situation of the country have an impact on prices. The EU price does not include the logistics costs of the vaccines for the vaccination sites, ”Azrul emphasized.
On the other hand, the Malaysian government said it would allocate RM3 billion for vaccines, which are expected to cover at least 70 percent of its 33 million people.
Critics had claimed that RM3 billion would guarantee only 10 million vaccines.
“Based on publicly available information, 12.8 million doses (enough for 6.4 million people) of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be obtained. 6.4 million doses of each from the Covax initiative and the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines, when combined (12.8 million doses) will protect 20 percent of the population, ”the group said.
“With these three vaccines, about 40 percent of the Malaysian population can expect to be vaccinated in 2021.”
Azrul claimed that the protest and deliberate misinformation are also the result of the exclusion of intermediaries or tender agents from these vaccine deals.
“This is what happens when the government deals directly with the supplier and there are no intermediaries such as bidding agents,” he said.
“A lot of public money is saved, the cost involved is significantly reduced. The Covid-19 public health emergency has disrupted the government’s usual method of procuring pharmaceuticals, and we hope this can be a model for the future. “
The Galen Center congratulated the government for negotiating directly with interested pharmaceutical companies.
This morning, the government revealed that it has secured vaccine coverage for another 10 percent of the population and was on its way to acquiring enough doses to vaccinate more than 80 percent of Malaysia at an estimated cost of RM2.05 thousand. millions.
