[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: Chief Health Officer Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah has not ruled out the possibility of action being taken against people who do not show up for Covid-19 vaccination.
He said that in other countries people were fined for “tail docking” to get vaccinated. “But we are using the carrot approach rather than the stick,” he said in a dialogue tonight.
He said the ministry could emulate the practice in other countries where a vaccine would be given to someone else, such as police or military personnel, if a person did not show up to receive the vaccine.
“In this way, the vaccine will not go to waste,” he said, adding that the ministry would study other measures to avoid waste.
No private companies involved with vaccines
On another matter, Noor Hisham said the sole responsibility for distributing the vaccine rests with the government. No private company, he said, had been licensed to “sell and market” the vaccine.
He said that even if private hospitals carried out the vaccines, they would get the government supply.
“We don’t want to commercialize vaccines because we fear that if we allow that to happen there will be tail docking and the possibility of fake vaccines entering.”
He said Interpol had informed the ministry of fake vaccines “circulating.”
Noor Hisham also said the government was not considering marketing the vaccines, despite the argument that it could help Malaysia achieve herd immunity faster.
“Otherwise, the rich will get the vaccine and the poor will not get vaccinated,” he said.
Noor Hisham also downplayed concerns about the different efficacy rates of the various vaccines used for the national immunization campaign.
He said that all the vaccines had been approved by the National Drug Regulatory Agency prior to distribution.
The first to be approved was Pfizer’s vaccine, which was recently shown to be 94% effective as the company had previously submitted its vaccine for approval.
“It will be a logistical challenge if people can select their own vaccines. It would be very difficult to meet such requirements, “he said.
“But rest assured, the vaccines have already been approved. It is not a clinical trial. NPRA is responsible for ensuring that all vaccines meet the requirements for safety and efficacy. “
CLICK HERE TO OBTAIN THE LATEST DATA ON THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA
We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for the latest news and announcements.
