Vaccination committee to brief MPs next Monday

 

The Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) will brief MPs next Monday on the Covid-19 immunisation programme.

According to the invitation, the event will also solicit feedback from the MPs.

This will be the first gathering of all MPs since Parliament convened in the final quarter of last year for the Budget 2021 sitting.

Parliament has been suspended since Jan 13 following a proclamation of emergency sought by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's government.

In a related development, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin expressed hope that all the opposition MPs will be able to attend the briefing.

He said this in a statement where he answered questions from opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

A summary of the five questions and their corresponding answers are as follows:

What has the government done to address the fact that 1.4 million individuals provided incomplete information when registering for the vaccination programme?

Khairy said he had addressed the matter yesterday afternoon. Individuals with incomplete registration forms will be notified via SMS to complete the process in order to receive a vaccination appointment date.

What will the government do about vaccine opponents?

Khairy said awareness programmes have been undertaken by the Health Ministry, Islamic Affairs Ministry (under the Prime Minister's Department) and the Islamic Development Department (Jakim).

He said there have been attempts to allay fears about the vaccine through the press, social media and outreach programmes.

There is no transparency on vaccine procurement, which cost RM3 billion. What factors were considered in deciding on the vaccine portfolio?

Khairy could not provide details because the government was bound by non-disclosure agreements with the vaccine companies.

However, he, alongside Health Minister Dr Adham Baba and the health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, have testified before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the matter.

Khairy said the PAC chairperson - Wong Kah Woh, an opposition politician - said that the committee was satisfied with the explanation.

"There are PKR members in the PAC," said Khairy.

Why is the procurement of Sputnik V vaccines from Russia only announced now? Will Malaysia receive vaccines from India?

Khairy said Sputnik V had always been part of the vaccine portfolio and is currently being evaluated by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

Khairy did not respond to the question on Indian vaccines.

Why aren't Malaysian universities and local research firms not developing vaccines?

Khairy said his ministry was funding vaccine research undertaken by Universiti Malaya and Universiti Putra Malaysia.

However, Malaysia does not have the necessary facilities to produce actual vaccines.

Nevertheless, the agreements with vaccine companies included a "value-added" element that will help Malaysia's vaccine production capacity in the future. - Mkini