Govt has communicated with 10 Covid-19 vaccine producers - Khairy

 

PARLIAMENT | The government has communicated with 10 Covid-19 vaccine producers following a notification by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that there are 11 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in phase 3 clinical trials as of Nov 13.

Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (above) said communications with eight of the producers were made directly, while the other two were through the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (Covax).

He said some of the discussions are in the final stage and an official announcement would be made when everything has been finalised.

“The discussion covers aspects of cooperation in various stages of vaccine development such as R&D, exchange of scientists, fill-and-finish development (transfer of technology, logistics, cold chain), including the purchase of vaccines (finished products) as a guarantee of access to vaccine supply for the country," he said.

Khairy was speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today in response to a question by Chan Foong Hin (DAP-Kota Kinabalu) who asked if the ministry made any order to import vaccines from Chinese companies such as Cansino, Sinovac, and Sinoparhm, or UK companies such as AstraZeneca.

He also asked if the ministry would set an order of priority for Covid-19 vaccination as is being done in Indonesia.

Khairy said by participating in Covax, Malaysia would have access to a supply of Covid-19 vaccine for 10 percent of the country's population and the government was working to get another 60 percent to meet the national immunisation target for herd immunity of up to 70 percent of the country's population.

The government, he said, was also working to get vaccine access as early as the first or second quarter of next year depending on the approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).

He said NPRA will ensure that a vaccine passes certain stipulated conditions, covering its safety and effectiveness through data on the clinical trial that was conducted.

Meanwhile, on the list of immunisation priorities, Khairy said the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access (JKJAV), set up on Oct 14, had agreed on three groups.

The first group is the frontliners, involving Health Ministry staff and agencies not under the ministry, such as the police, Malaysian Armed Forces, Immigration Department, and others.

The second is for high-risk groups, such as individuals with comorbidities and senior citizens. The third group involves the adult population.

Details on the groups are being finetuned and an announcement is expected to be made during the first quarter of next year.

- Bernama