KUALA LUMPUR – Sinovac will no longer be a part of the government’s Covid-19 vaccination roll-out, but private entities are still allowed to use it in their programmes, Khairy Jamaluddin told The Vibes.
Khairy, who oversees the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force, said he will be addressing the matter in a press conference tomorrow.
This comes after Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba’s press conference, where he said the remaining Sinovac jabs will be reserved for those who need them to complete their second dose.
Adham said today that Malaysia has enough Pfizer jabs as the country imported more than 44 million doses of it, compared with its 16 million doses of Sinovac.
He added that more Pfizer jabs will be distributed to the states in time to come.
Kelantan has decided to ditch the Sinovac vaccine and go with Pfizer at all its vaccination centres.
State health director Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin told Harian Metro that Sinovac supplies will be stopped this month.
“After July 18, the Sinovac vaccines will be given only as the second dose to those who got the Sinovac jab earlier.
“Starting July 18, all centres (in Kelantan) will be stocked with Sinovac only for second-dose recipients.
“There will be no more supply for the first dose from that date.”
He did not give an explanation for the decision, but merely said it had nothing to do with vaccine supply to the state.
“After this, Kelantan will only use the Pfizer vaccine.”
Sinovac was given a conditional approval for use in Malaysia by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency early March. – The Vibes, July 15, 2021
