KUALA LUMPUR – The Covid-19 Sinopharm vaccine and Johnson & Johnson’s intramuscular injection have received conditional approvals for emergency use by the Malaysian Drug Control Authority (DCA) today.
In a statement, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the conditional approvals are provided for Sinopharm-made Covilo, which Duopharma Sdn Bhd holds the registration for in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, he added that the registration holder for the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine suspension for injection belongs to Johnson & Johnson Sdn Bhd.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, called Janssen, is a suspension for intramuscular injection administered as a single dose (0.5 ml).
“This conditional registration approval requires information, safety and efficacy of vaccine products to be monitored and based on up-to-date data from time to time.
“It is for each varying success (benefit over risk) for vaccine products to remain positive.
“The Health Ministry will continue to improve the level of public health in combating the Covid-19 epidemic through the procurement of vaccine preparations that have used various aspects, safety and effectiveness by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) and approved by the DCA.”
On June 15, the DCA had approved the single-dose Johnson & Johnson and CanSino Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use.
It was reported the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be procured via the Covax facility headed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac and AstraZeneca jabs currently used in Malaysia are a two-dose regimen. – The Vibes, July 16, 2021
