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Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin says the government is also in the final stages of vaccine negotiations with Russia and China.
Malaysia has signed an agreement to purchase 6.4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca and is in negotiations with China and Russia to secure more vaccine supplies, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a video on Tuesday, as the country continue to fight a third party. wave of coronavirus cases.
The government signed an agreement to secure 12.8 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech in November and is also obtaining vaccines from the World Health Organization’s COVAX program.
“This means that we have secured vaccine supplies to cover 40 percent (of the population),” Muhyiddin said.
The government is now in final negotiations with Chinese manufacturers Sinovac and CanSino Biologics, as well as Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, to cover its remaining requirements and hopes to have enough vaccine to inoculate 83 percent of people in the country.
Malaysia is battling a third wave of the coronavirus, but has allowed stores and other businesses to remain open as long as they adhere to health protocols, such as wearing masks and installing plastic protectors. [Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]
“These will not just be vaccine purchases, but will also include the ability to fill and finish (put the vaccines in the vials) in Malaysia and possible R&D deals,” said Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation at Malaysia, on Twitter.
Total acquisition costs are currently approximately $ 504.4 million, according to the government.
After keeping the coronavirus in check for much of the year, Malaysia has been battling a third wave of infections, which accelerated after state elections in the state of Sabah in Borneo in September and then spread to Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas. surroundings.
Clusters of cases have emerged in prisons and detention centers, as well as factories, and the country’s largest outbreak arises from crowded dormitories that house migrant workers employed by Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of medical gloves.
Vaccination schedule
The state news agency Bernama said Muhyiddin, who is 73 years old and was treated for pancreatic cancer two years ago, would be among the first to receive the vaccine in an attempt to increase public confidence in the vaccine. Those on the front lines and other high-risk groups, including the elderly and those with underlying health problems, will also be first in line.
Khairy says the vaccination schedule, which the government hopes to announce in January, is also dependent on approval and registration by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA). The authorities aim to secure sufficient stocks to cover Malaysians, as well as non-citizens living and working in the country, he said.
A COVID-19 outbreak linked to workers at the world’s largest glove manufacturer has become Malaysia’s largest cluster of cases [File: Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]
Under the Pfizer agreement, Malaysia expects to receive one million doses in the first quarter of 2021, with vaccines expected to begin in February. The remaining doses of the vaccine, which requires ultra-cold storage, will arrive in later quarters.
Neighboring Singapore received its first batch of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday.
Malaysia reported 2,018 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the third highest recorded daily infection since the pandemic began in January. The total number of cases now stands at 95,327 and 438 people have died from COVID-19.
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