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KUALA LUMPUR, December 7 – The Malaysian government’s Covid-19 vaccine agreements with the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and with the global COVAX facility do not involve third parties, Khairy Jamaluddin said today.
The science, technology and innovation minister also explained that the government has so far only purchased Covid-19 vaccines, directly, from two producers, Pfizer and COVAX, even as several Malaysian companies sign distribution agreements with vaccine developers from China, including MyEG Services. Bhd, a digital government service provider with no experience in the Malaysian healthcare or logistics sector.
“The acquisition made by the government is only with COVAX for 10 percent of the population and with Pfizer for 20 percent of the population that was made directly with Pfizer without the use of any intermediary or third party,” said Khairy at the end. the debate at the committee stage for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) at the Dewan Rakyat today.
“Distribution is also an issue that requires regulatory approval. We will not simply give it to any company without distribution capacity to maintain the stability of the vaccine ”.
Local pharmaceutical distributors in Malaysia currently have very limited capacity to store or distribute large quantities of vaccines at arctic temperatures. Vaccines, including those for Covid-19, can be rendered unusable if stored at temperatures that exceed their specifications.
Khairy agreed that the RM3 billion allocated for Covid-19 vaccines is not in the MOSTI budget in the Estimated Federal Expenditure for 2021, as noted by former Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad during his debate on the MOSTI budget.
“I admit that it is not in the 2021 Estimated Federal Expenditure document because it will be presented in the Covid-19 fund,” said the MOSTI minister.
Khairy said the RM3 billion allocation will include procurement, storage and transportation to vaccinate 70 percent of the population with coronavirus vaccines, and that it is not just for the Pfizer vaccine.
The Rembau MP added that the price given by Pfizer to Malaysia for its mRNA vaccine, which has a storage temperature of -70 degrees Celsius, is an agreement that covers both the price and the shipment of 12.8 million doses, but it does not include storage. Today he told Parliament that the Pfizer deal also covered transportation costs.
“The RM3 billion is the grand total and we will try the grand total to count everything: acquisitions, including warehousing and transportation. So far, we are within our goal, ”Khairy said in response to Dzulkefly, who asked him to clarify a viral message stating that RM3 billion would be spent on Pfizer’s vaccine (RM2 billion) and logistics (RM1 billion). million ringgit) related to Pfizer Vaccine.
In a recent viral WhatsApp message attributed to Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, he alleged that more than RM2 billion has been used just to buy the mRNA vaccine from Pfizer, while RM1 billion will be required to keep the vaccine at – 80 degrees centigrade. The storage temperature for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is -70 degrees Celsius, not -80 degrees Celsius.
The message allegedly attributed to Tengku Razaleigh was filled with vaccine misinformation promoting the treatment of Covid-19 disease with “holistic, herbal and complementary [sic] medicine ”and questioning the so-called“ secret ingredients ”in mRNA vaccines. The WhatsApp message included the name and contact number of Tengku Razaleigh’s personal assistant, Mohd Lukhman Ghani.
“I can state categorically in Parliament, Dewan Rakyat, that this is completely unfounded and incorrect,” Khairy said in response to that viral news.
“I cannot disclose the actual price of our acquisition with Pfizer because it is a confidentiality agreement. Our deal with Pfizer and also COVAX is still very, very well within our RM3 billion range for 70% of the population. “
Businesses are free to search for vaccine deals, but it all comes down to NPRA approval
The minister also said that any private company can make private agreements with international vaccine companies, but those agreements are not related to government vaccine agreements.
“Any company can discuss with any international company to be its agent, distributor, etc. and we cannot control if they want to make commercial arrangements with any company or vaccine manufacturer,” said the Umno legislator.
“If they don’t get approval from Clinical Research Malaysia, for example, they can’t do clinical trials here. If they don’t get approval from the National Drug Regulatory Agency (NPRA), which is under the Ministry of Health (MOH), they can’t bring the vaccine to Malaysia. “
Earlier today, Malaysia’s digital government service provider MyEG announced that it had signed an agreement with the China-based pharmaceutical company, Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co Ltd, to conduct its phase three clinical trials of the Zhifei vaccine in Malaysia.
Previously, the engineering and construction company Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd had also signed a distribution and license agreement with the American Generex Biotechnology Corp and its subsidiary NuGenerex Immuno-Oncology Inc, which has been working to develop a peptide vaccine against the coronavirus using peptides. synthetic (peptides are smaller versions of proteins).
“For the government, MOSTI and MOH, we cannot stop these companies that have nothing to do with medicine or logistics and things like that, they can try to turn to other industries. They make private commercial agreements with international companies. However, I want to inform the investor market that these announcements do not mean that they have obtained public procurement, ”Khairy said, emphasizing that the government’s vaccine deals so far are only with Pfizer and COVAX.
Khairy also said that distribution is subject to the purview of regulatory bodies, which means that companies that want to distribute the vaccine but do not have the capacity will not be able to distribute the vaccine.
“There are vaccine manufacturers, for example, from China who are interested in coming here not only to sell, but also for the filling and finishing process, but who also need regulatory approval before being approved,” Khairy said.
The Dewan Rakyat approved the MOSTI budget at the committee stage in a voice vote today.
Rural people shouldn’t be left behind
Bandar Kuching MP, Dr. Kelvin Yii, during his committee stage debate on MOSTI’s budget, said that no one should be left behind, especially those living in rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak, to receive the vaccines. Covid-19.
Sarawak’s DAP legislator questioned the government how public health providers could maintain a cold temperature for vaccines in rural areas, where the electricity supply is unstable and some areas are completely dependent on generators.
“How do you maintain and control the temperature at each step of the cold chain?” Dr. Yii said.
“On top of that, given that Pfizer is a two-dose regimen, how will you get those who live especially in rural areas to comply with the regulations and come back for their second dose, so they develop enough and the required antibody titer? ? “
He also asked the government how they intend to keep the vaccine in rural areas during the period between each dose, since if there were improper storage, the mRNA vaccine could be unusable.
Dr. Yii, who is a trained physician, also said that the government should start proper communications right now to educate the public on the importance of a Covid-19 vaccine in order to avoid misinformation, confusion, and hesitation.
“Resources should be allocated to properly educate and combat misinformation and pseudoscience, which can increase vaccinations vacillation, which will affect their distributions,” said Deputy Bandar Kuching.
“All of this will require a whole society approach, which is why the National Vaccine Roadmap being developed by MOSTI should include different research institutes, medical fraternities, including private practice, and even elected representatives from across the political sector. So there is a joint collaboration to exemplify and coordinate communications to ensure this vaccine reaches its intended goal and that no one is left behind, regardless of their status, demographics or background. “
