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KUALA LUMPUR, December 7 – Covid-19 vaccine supply issues facing the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, as stated by an international media outlet, will not affect its supply for Malaysia, which is expected to take place during the first quarter of the next year.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar said that, according to the media report, this issue would only affect this year’s production.
“I am aware of the supply problems, but the same media report also stated that the problem would only affect 2020 supply. As far as I know, it will not affect supply for the Malaysian government next year,” he said in a question and answer session at the Dewan Rakyat sitting here today.
He was responding to a follow-up question from Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai on whether the vaccine supply chain issues reported by Reuters would affect the supply of Covid-19 vaccines to Malaysia.
However, Khairy said that if there are supply chain disruptions, the government will identify other vaccine portfolios from various companies, as relying on one company could expose itself to the risk of not getting enough vaccine supply for Malaysians.
Commenting on the additional costs that may be incurred on top of the RM3 billion allocation, Khairy said that each agreement with vaccine manufacturers would take into account costs such as transportation and storage.
“Our agreement with Pfizer, for example, the costs we have paid for each dose also cover the transportation that will be borne by the company,” he said.
In response to the original question, Khairy said that he has so far signed two agreements to ensure a sufficient supply of the Covid-19 vaccine for 30 percent of the population.
“The first agreement was with the global COVAX facility through the Optional Purchase agreement, signed on November 23, which guarantees the supply of vaccines for 10 percent of the population, while the second agreement was an initial purchase agreement with Pfizer, signed on November 24 to provide vaccine supplies for 20 percent of the population (12.8 million doses), ”he said.
He said that the government will not compromise the safety and efficacy of purchased vaccines and that the final decision on the use of a vaccine will only be made after it is registered and approved by the Ministry of Health’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
The target of 70 percent of Malaysia’s population to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in the first quarter of 2021 will focus on adults to allow the country to reach the threshold for herd immunity under the National Immunization Plan.
To achieve the remaining goal, Khairy said the government is in talks with other Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing companies. – Bernama
