KUALA LUMPUR – A call has been made for the newly formed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Health, Science and Innovation to be properly briefed on the updates and progress of the Covid-19 vaccine procurement process.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yee Lee Wuen said it is important in the spirit of transparency to remove doubts that have been raised, which will affect the public’s confidence in the vaccine and its distribution plan by the Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministry (Mosti).
He said the ministry’s planned National Vaccine Roadmap must also be scrutinised to ensure a proper roll-out of the immunisation against Covid-19.
Yee, who is also Sarawak DAP assistant secretary , said it is important that no one is left behind, regardless of their status, demographics or background.
"Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, I strongly believe this bipartisan PSC plays an important role to scrutinise and to give input, especially on the approach taken by the government to handle Covid-19, including the procurement and distribution of (the) vaccine that is scheduled to first arrive in February 2021 at the earliest," he said in a Facebook post.
Yee, who holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from Russia, warned that Malaysia is projected to experience a continuous rise in infections until mid-March, hitting more than 5,000 infections daily from February 25, based on the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
"If there is no urgent intervention, we may see our healthcare system being overwhelmed again by April or June," he said.
He said he has been in contact with the Dewan Rakyat speaker since the announcement of the PSC's formation to push for committee meetings to be convened swiftly on the matter.
He said the recent blunder by a Belgian minister who revealed the costs of Covid-19 vaccines has raised questions by many parties on the costs incurred by Malaysia.
He expressed concern about possible leakages and whether Malaysia is getting the best deal from the RM3 billion allocated by the federal government to vaccinate at least 70% of the population "in order to achieve some sort of herd immunity".
Yee said although Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has clarified some issues, there were still questions left unanswered.
This is why the PSC is the best avenue to provide accountability and transparency, he said.
"The PSC is empowered to call up different stakeholders, including people from the ministry, different healthcare associations, research institutes, private medical fraternities, NGOs and many others to provide their input into our country’s Covid-19 approach," he said.
He added that it is also empowered to scrutinise the whole process to make sure that the vaccine reaches the intended target, and risks of corruption, wastage or abuse are minimised. – The Vibes, December 22, 2020
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