Don't be choosy, all approved vaccines work - Health Ministry

The public has been advised not to be choosy about which Covid-19 vaccine to receive as all the approved vaccines can effectively control the disease.

This was the advice given by Health Ministry Clinical Research Institute director Dr Kalaiarasu Peariasamy to those who may choose to wait until their preferred vaccine becomes available to them, even if they have to get it from the private sector.

“It is not advised to say, ‘I will choose one vaccine over the other’. They are all applicable as vaccines to effectively control the disease,” said Kalaiarasu in a Health Ministry briefing session with the press over video conference today.

Previously, Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin also said that recipients of vaccines will not be able to choose which type they receive.

He assured that only vaccines approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) will be administered.

“The policy of the government is that whatever vaccine has been approved by the NPRA is safe and efficacious,” Khairy said.

Currently, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use in Malaysia by the NPRA. The agency is also evaluating vaccines from Sinovac, the Gamaleya Institute, and AstraZeneca.

At the time, Khairy also said the government will only revise its policy to not vaccinate pregnant and nursing women once the Health Ministry deemed it safe.

Kalaiarasu said in today’s briefing that there was no clinical trial data about the vaccine's effects on pregnant women.

This is because regulatory bodies do not allow pregnant women to take part in most drug trials as to not endanger the pregnancy.

As such, he explained, there is no “universally-accepted” approach to vaccinating pregnant women against Covid-19.

However, he advised that it is best to postpone the vaccination until the pregnancy is over so there is no risk of aggravating the pregnancy.

The first Covid-19 vaccine shipment is scheduled to arrive in the country this Sunday (Feb 21) morning. - Mkini