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PUTRAJAYA: The government will need to review data from phase 3 clinical trials for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine before deciding to acquire them, Chief Health Officer Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah said today.
“We certainly have hopes of receiving vaccines. To date, there are 11 vaccines that are in Phase 3 of their clinical trials.
“However, we have yet to read any reports on clinical trials in terms of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine,” he said during a news conference.
He was asked if Malaysia would be willing to wait for a cheaper vaccine alternative, as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires low-temperature storage of -80 degrees Celsius, potentially involving high logistical costs.
Yesterday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their vaccine was found to be very effective with a 90% efficacy rate in their clinical trials.
Noor Hisham said the government will be very thorough in reviewing data to ensure safety and efficacy, before purchasing any vaccine.
He added that the government would also need to provide the infrastructure to transport the vaccine if they decide to purchase it and that discussions are ongoing.
“But the first step is that we would have to review the Phase 3 clinical data before making any commitments.”
Meanwhile, Noor Hisham expected the R-0 (pronounced R-zero) infection rate for Covid-19 cases to drop from 1.0 to 0.5 in the next two weeks.
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