[UPDATED] 258,570 Covid-19 vaccine doses coming from Pfizer-BioNTech this week

KUALA LUMPUR – A new batch of 258,570 Covid-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer-BioNTech will arrive in the country this week, according to National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“We will be receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech doses between May 5 and May 7, via three more shipments,” he said during a joint press conference with Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba at noon today.

“The shipment on Wednesday (May 5) will involve the delivery of 191,880 doses, Thursday’s (May 6) will see 59,670 doses, and Friday (May 7) will see 7,020 doses. These deliveries will bring the total supplies received from Pfizer to 1,971,450 doses.

“We are also awaiting the delivery of Sinovac vaccines from Pharmaniaga who are currently bottling the vaccines for disbursement soon.”

The government’s decision to offer the AstraZeneca vaccine as an optional vaccine has seen more people re-registering for the Covid-19 immunisation programme, Khairy said.

“From the 8,000 people who pulled out from AstraZeneca when it was part of the national programme, 6,400 have now re-registered.

“After we announced the opt-in programme, about 80% of the people who cancelled their registration on MySejahtera re-registered for their vaccination appointment.

“This data shows that there was vaccine hesitancy,” he said adding that the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV) recorded an increase in no-shows when the vaccine was announced as part of the national vaccination programme.

Khairy said a total of 1.1 million doses are expected to arrive this month via the Covax facility later this month, followed by 610,000 doses from AstraZeneca itself in June, 410,000 in July, as well as 1.2 million in August and September.

Stating that the country’s vaccine utilisation rate was at 75%, he also dismissed claims of the government withholding its vaccines saying that the remaining 25% will be used for upcoming appointments.

The interval between the first and second doses of the vaccines, he added, will be decided by JKJAV in a meeting tomorrow in a decision which will be based on efficacy, logistics and the present surge of Covid-19 cases.

It is learnt that the recommended interval between both vaccines is between four to 12 weeks.

On the AstraZeneca vaccine, Khairy said the present roll-out of the vaccine in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur will be extended nationwide as 1.1 million additional doses are due to arrive later this month.

Addressing the lack of internet access to rural areas, he assured that the government will look towards taking this factor into account in an effort to provide the vaccine through community clinics. – The Vibes, May 3, 2021