Malaysia inks deals for Covid-19 vaccines for 30pct of the population

 

COVID-19 | Malaysia has signed agreements to procure sufficient Covid-19 vaccine doses to vaccinate 30 percent of the population, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced today.

He said while the government has no plan to make immunisation compulsory, the vaccines will be available to Malaysians for free, and to foreigners residing in Malaysia at a fee.

A detailed vaccine rollout plan will be announced in January next year and certain “high-risk groups” would be put first in the line for the much-awaited vaccine.

“After the vaccines have been procured, they will be distributed in stages, prioritising groups at a high risk to Covid-19.

“These high-risk groups will include frontliners, senior citizens, and patients with non-commutable diseases like heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and so on.

“Then, the vaccination will be expanded to other target groups,” Muhyiddin told a press conference in Putrajaya today.

He said Health Minister Dr Adham Baba has signed a preliminary purchase agreement on Nov 24 with US drugmaker Pfizer for 12.8 million doses of the vaccine, which would be enough for 6.4 million people.

This is contingent on Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and the Malaysian National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.

This would ensure the vaccines are of high quality and would be safe and efficacious.

Under the deal, Pfizer is to deliver a million doses in the first quarter of next year.

Another 1.7 million doses are to be delivered in the second quarter, 5.8 million in the third quarter and 4.3 million in the fourth quarter.

Muhyiddin said Adham had also signed an agreement with the Covax facility on Nov 22 to provide vaccines for another 10 percent of Malaysia’s population.

Multi-pronged approach to source enough vaccines

“With that, the two agreements are expected to guarantee access to Covid-19 vaccines to 30 percent of Malaysians,” he said.

The prime minister said Malaysia is taking a multi-pronged approach to source enough vaccines from different manufacturers for its population.

For the record, there are nine Covid-19 vaccines listed in Covax’s portfolio.

Of these, only Moderna and AstraZeneca have reported preliminary results from their respective Phase III vaccine trials.

Both Pfizer and Moderna have claimed that their vaccines are about 95 percent effective, but both vaccines require ultra-low storage temperatures that would complicate the distribution.

The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at -70°C, while the Moderna candidate needs to be stored at -20°C.

Nevertheless, Muhyiddin expressed confidence that healthcare facilities in Malaysia can meet these challenges.

“This because the implementation would not only involve Health Ministry facilities, but also other government agencies such as the Armed Forces hospitals, university hospitals and other hospitals,” he said.

He said the government will also study the possibility of adding more facilities for Covid-19 vaccination from time to time, once the process is underway.

Meanwhile, Pfizer Malaysia said it was deeply honoured to work with the Malaysian government.

The company said it would rely on its experience and knowledge to maintain the cold chain needed to distribute the vaccine.

"Companies have developed specially designed temperature-controlled thermal conveyors that use dry ice to maintain temperature conditions of - 70° C ± 10° C.

"They can be used as temporary storage units for 15 days by filling them with dry ice.

"Each sender contains a thermal sensor with GPS to track the location and temperature of each vaccine shipment through its pre-established route taking advantage of Pfizer's extensive distribution network," said the company. - Mkini