KUALA LUMPUR – Coordinating Minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin said he is willing to take any of the Covid-19 vaccines approved by the Malaysian authorities.
He said that since many people had safely taken the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, he wanted to opt for the next approved vaccine to show that all vaccines are safe and given to the people irrespective of their status.
“I have been reading people’s reactions and opinions for the past few days. The prime minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin), health director-general (Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah), chief ministers, and frontliners have started to receive the Pfizer vaccine with no side effects.
“Now the people are asking: if all the leaders are taking the Pfizer vaccine because it is good stuff, is the rest for ordinary people? As such, I made the decision yesterday to take whatever vaccine that is approved next.
“If it’s Sinovac, it will be Sinovac. If it’s the Russian vaccine, it will be the Russian vaccine. If it’s AstraZeneca (Oxford-AstraZeneca), it will be AstraZeneca,” he told reporters after witnessing the arrival of the first batch of Sinovac vaccine at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here today.
The Pfizer vaccine is the first and only brand approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for use in Malaysia so far.
The envirotainer – a temperature-controlled container – with 200 litres of Sinovac vaccine arrived at 9am at the KLIA from Beijing in a Malaysia Airlines Airbus 330-300 aircraft, Flight MH319, bearing the livery of the Jalur Gemilang.
The vaccine, developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech Ltd, was transported using a passenger-to-cargo flight.
The 200 litres of vaccine is good for more than 300,000 doses.
Apart from Muhyiddin and Dr Noor Hisham, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, and Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee have also received the Pfizer vaccine.
Indonesia is among the countries that have started using the Sinovac vaccine, with President Joko Widodo being the first person in the country to receive the vaccine.
On February 16, the prime minister announced that all MPs and assemblymen, regardless of political persuasion, will receive the Covid-19 vaccines in the phase 1.
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this was agreed on by the Special Committee of Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV), seeing that MPs and assemblymen are usually in contact with the people in the course of their work. – Bernama, February 27, 2021
