KUALA LUMPUR – The government has to release pharmacovigilance reports on the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme to increase public confidence for the vaccine.
Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) president Amrahi Buang, in a statement today, said that the pharmacovigilance reports, especially the adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) report should be made public weekly.
“If there are severe side effects, the government needs to stop the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme temporarily. This AEFI report is much needed to convince the people that the vaccines (used under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme) is safe and effective.
“It needs to be done honestly and transparently. It is not intended to intimidate the people, but the people should know about it,” he said, adding that the report was done in countries such as Canada and South Korea.
Amrahi said the report, released by the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee and the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) could also help the national vaccination programme to achieve herd immunity.
He said the NPRA, which is the pharmacovigilance centre for reporting adverse effects from drugs, including vaccines, under the World Health Organisation (WHO), is capable of conducting pharmacovigilance for the Covid-19 vaccination programme with the existing AEFI collection and reporting system. – Bernama, March 12, 2021
