KUALA LUMPUR: Apart from the Covid-19 vaccine developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the government is also considering other developers whose vaccines are currently in the third phase of clinical trials, for use in Malaysia.
Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the Dewan Rakyat sitting today that Malaysia is also a participant of the Covax Facility, which is a global Covid-19 vaccine development platform, to ensure that more people in the country have access to the vaccine for the virus.
"Apart from the Covid-19 vaccine by Pfizer, Malaysia has also joined the Covax facility which will guarantee access to the supply of the vaccines to 10 per cent of the country's population.
"The special committee on Covid-19 vaccine supply is also looking at vaccines developed by other candidates that are now in the third stage of clinical trials to be used in Malaysia.
"An announcement on the matter as well as who will receive the vaccine first will be made soon," said Khairy during the Ministerial Question Time.
He was responding to question from Lim Guan Eng (Pakatan Harapan–Bagan) who asked why the Pfizer vaccine was chosen and no other vaccines produced by other companies, including in the United States, China, and Russia.
The special committee on Covid-19 vaccine supply is jointly chaired by Khairy and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
To another question, Khairy said the government has inked an agreement with Pfizer for vaccines for 20 per cent of the country's population, or 6.4 million people.
"The government, through the Health Ministry, had inked a deal with Pfizer on Nov 24 to obtain supply of the Covid-19 vaccine.
"The selection was made based on the interim report of clinical trials published by The New England Journal of Medicine on Dec 10, which showed that the vaccine (developed by Pfizer) appears 95 per cent effective against Covid-19.
"In addition, the government had access to data to evaluate and validate the efficacy and effectiveness of the vaccine, which has also obtained Emergency Use Authorisation from the United Kingdom, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Singapore," he said.
Khairy, however, added that the usage of the vaccine is still subject to registration and approval by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) under the Health Ministry.
"The process has started and all the data supplied by Pfizer will be evaluated by the NPRA," he said.
The supply for 12.8 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer to immunise 6.4 million Malaysians, he said, will reach the country in the first quarter of next year.
Khairy also welcomed suggestions from Lim for MPs to be given the vaccine first to prove its safety and effectiveness.
"We will take into consideration the suggestion made by Bagan and an announcement on the matter will be made soon," he said.
