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PETALING JAYA: A senior pharmacist says that both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine should be administered with the same type of government-approved vaccine.
Malaysia Pharmacists Society President Amrahi Buang said that those who enrolled in the National Covid-19 Immunization Program could not choose the type of vaccine or request to be vaccinated with a different type of vaccine for each dose.
However, Amrahi said the Covid-19 vaccine mix-and-match approach could be considered for those who had severe allergic reactions after receiving their first dose.
“Other than those who have an allergic reaction, you cannot mix and match the doses of the vaccine,” he said at a webinar on the Covid-19 vaccine organized by the Galen Center for Health and Social Policy and Research for Social Advancement. tonight.
This is because those who had a severe allergic reaction after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were advised not to receive the second dose.
In the same webinar, KPJ Damansara gynecologist Dr. Imelda Balchin advised pregnant women with existing medical conditions or working as avant-garde to get vaccinated as they are at increased risk of severe Covid-19.
“I think the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the side effects,” he said.
However, she added that all other pregnant women should wait before taking the vaccine, at least until studies on the vaccines have been completed.
“For now, we still don’t have enough information about the vaccine,” he added.
Meanwhile, a nephrologist at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital, Dr. Rafidah Abdullah, said that to ensure that the vaccination program was a success, it is necessary to reach the people who are still “on the fence.”
He advised people to obtain information about the vaccine from official sources such as the ministry of health, the Special Committee to Guarantee Access to the Supply of Covid-19 Vaccines and through the MySejahtera application.
So far, the Ministry of Health had granted conditional approval for three Covid-19 vaccines.
The three vaccines are Covid-19 AstraZeneca solution for injection, manufactured by MedImmune Pharma BV Netherland; CoronaVac Injectable Suspension from Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd; and Comirnaty concentrate for injectable dispersion from Pfizer.
In a statement, Chief Health Officer Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said the conditional approval meant that the National Agency for Pharmaceutical Regulation will review the data from these companies.
“This is to ensure that the safety and efficacy of these vaccines are constantly updated, as well as that the benefits over the risks of these vaccines remain positive.”
