BINTULU – The delivery dry run of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to the Belaga Health Clinic here yesterday went smoothly without any problems.
Deputy Health Minister II Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang said the success in maintaining the ultra-cold temperature during the process proves that the vaccine could be delivered to anywhere in the country.
He said the input data logger, which monitors the delivery process from Belgium, shows satisfactory results.
“From the data logger provided by the company, we found no issue or weakness, and we hope that during the actual vaccine delivery, the situation will be the same,” he said at a press conference today.
Stored in a “thermal shipper” container, the bottles containing the saline solution were transported from Belgium to Singapore, and then to Malaysia, before being flown to Kuching and brought to the Belaga Health Clinic.
During the dry run, the temperature in the thermal shipper was maintained between -90°C to -60°C, thus ensuring that the vaccine is in perfect condition when it reaches its destination.
Public Health Pharmacy Sector head Datin Shantini Thevendran said for the actual delivery, Pfizer will appoint its own delivery agents for vaccine facilities in the country.
Training on the handling of the vaccine will be organised for Malaysian Armed Forces and health personnel from February 2 to 5.
Malaysia is expected to receive 12.8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in stages from mid-February, and the inoculation process will be carried out according to different priority levels, beginning with frontliners, followed by high-risk group members, and those aged 18 and above.
The training programme will be jointly organised by the Health Ministry, state Disaster Management Committee, Malaysian Armed Forces and Pfizer (M) Sdn Bhd. – Bernama, January 30, 2021
