KUALA LUMPUR – As phase one of the national Covid-19 vaccination programme continues, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has urged the cabinet to acquire vaccine doses from India.
The Pekan MP predicted in a Facebook post today that India would have an excess in vaccine stocks given that it is the largest global producer of vaccines.
He added that the immunisation programme would likely face logistical hurdles, and claimed that Indians may be reluctant to receive the jabs.
“On February 16, I urged the government to call India immediately to book the excess vaccines so that Malaysia’s vaccination programme can be sped up,” he said.
In a cheeky aside to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, he added that his successor – who had criticised India over its persecution of Kashmiris during his second stint as prime minister – should not be sent to negotiate with the country.
Najib also pointed out that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made a phone call to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi three weeks ago, which led to 250,000 Canadians receiving their first immunisation dose from India this week.
It was reported that the first Canada-bound shipment of Covid-19 vaccines manufactured in India had arrived in Toronto yesterday morning.
A consignment of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the brand Covishield was sent by the Serum Institute of India (SII), the Hindustan Times reported.
It was received by SII’s Canadian partner, Verity Pharmaceuticals, located in the Greater Toronto Area town of Mississauga.
About 1 million Canadian residents are now expected to receive full doses of the vaccine by May, Najib noted.
Malaysia kicked off the first of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme’s three phases on February 24, with the first roll-out taking place from February to April this year, involving 500,000 frontliners.
The second phase will be from April to August involving some 9.4 million people from those aged 65 and above, high-risk groups as well as persons with disabilities.
The third phase from May this year to February 2022 will cover both Malaysians and non-citizens aged 18 and above, targeting more than 13.7 million people. – The Vibes, March 4, 2021
