KUALA LUMPUR – The Health Ministry may take between 90 and 120 days to register the Covid-19 vaccine produced by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer before it is allowed to be administered to Malaysians, said director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He said the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) received the company’s registration on December 15, and further correspondence with the company will commence at the end of this month.
“We are in the process of looking into the registration,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a press conference today.
“We are also looking at conditional registration, to evaluate it from a quality standpoint, as well as safety and efficacy of the product based on the documents given.”
He said this is among the five steps taken by the ministry in order to register all Covid-19 vaccines, especially in the early stages of their arrival to Malaysia.
The second step, he said, involves looking into the supply and acquisition of the vaccines, adding that his ministry is working closely with the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry on this as well as other administrative matters.
“The third (step) is prioritising, where certain groups – for example, medical workers, frontliners, and vulnerable groups – will receive the vaccines first.”
He said the fourth step is the monitoring and assessment of the vaccines’ side effects.
Finally, he said that the ministry will monitor the vaccines’ effectiveness in protecting Malaysians from Covid-19 infection.
“These five actions are being processed, and we will expedite (the matter) and prioritise the evaluation of the vaccines.” – The Vibes, December 21, 2020
