KUALA LUMPUR – The idea to give the Covid-19 vaccine to lawmakers first has been lauded by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who said Putrajaya will consider the suggestion.
Khairy (BN-Rembau) also confirmed in the Dewan Rakyat today that the federal government has been given access to data on Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine to analyse its quality, effectiveness and safety.
However, he said, the use of the vaccine in Malaysia is still subject to the approval of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
As to why Putrajaya decided to go ahead with the Pfizer purchase, Khairy said the decision was made based on a clinical trial report.
“This purchase is based on the clinical trials’ interim report published by the New England Journal of Medicine, showing that the vaccine is 95% efficient in preventing Covid-19 infection.
“Additionally, this vaccine has received emergency use authorisation in seven countries, namely the UK, the US, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Singapore.”
Malaysia will receive the first batch of the vaccines in the first quarter of 2021, with 12.8 million doses for 6.4 million citizens.
Khairy reminded the House that the country has participated in the Covax programme that guarantees vaccine supply for at least 10% of the population.
He was responding to a question by Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) concerning the Pfizer vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, and whether Putrajaya is considering testing it on MPs first.
Earlier, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement said Malaysia has yet to receive formal documents from the pharmaceutical giant to allow the Health Ministry to conduct clinical trials and assessment for registration of the vaccine.
He said Malaysia also has no information on claims of vaccine supply-chain challenges faced by Pfizer.
He was responding to a Reuters report that the company is facing difficulties obtaining raw materials required for the production of the vaccine, leading to its decision to slash its 2020 production target by half.
“NPRA has not received any documents from Pfizer for us to assess and conduct trials for the Covid-19 vaccine.
“The ministry will continuously monitor the development on the production of the vaccine, and obtain more information on the matter.”
The Wall Street Journal has reported that early batches of the raw materials for the vaccine failed to meet standards.
Pfizer’s vaccine is a two-dose regimen, meaning 50 million doses are needed to inoculate 25 million people.
On December 2, the UK became the first country in the world to authorise its use. – The Vibes, December 17, 2020
