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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will purchase additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech, bringing the total insured to 32 million, enough to cover half of its population, said on Monday (March 8) the science minister of the country, Khairy Jamaluddin.
The Southeast Asian country last month embarked on a nationwide vaccination program, aimed at inoculating 80 percent of its 32 million people by February 2022.
“All Pfizer vaccines insured so far are expected to be delivered this year,” Khairy said at a virtual press conference.
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Malaysia is also considering abandoning negotiations to acquire a single-dose vaccine from US pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson, in favor of a deal with Chinese company CanSino Biologics, which also requires only one dose, Khairy said.
“This is a better option for us compared to Johnson & Johnson, where supplies are expected to arrive only in the fourth quarter of the year,” he added.
The government said last month that it had secured 66.7 million doses of vaccines, more than enough to cover its population.
In addition to the agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech, Malaysia has also entered into a supply agreement with AstraZeneca of Great Britain, Gamaleya Research Institute of Russia, as well as Sinovac Biotech and CanSino of China.
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