M’sia to get 415,000 doses of UK-made AstraZeneca jab

PUTRAJAYA – The United Kingdom will contribute 415,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to Malaysia.

This was announced by UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Secretary Dominic Raab in London today.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, on behalf of the Malaysian government, expressed his gratitude to his UK counterpart for the donation to the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

“This is the epitome of our long-standing and strong relationship that will further strengthen cooperation,” he said in a statement issued by Wisma Putra.

He said Malaysia believes that both countries can work together on a variety of productive endeavours to weather the pandemic, including collaboration on reciprocal vaccination arrangements and a travel bubble.

The British high commission here in a statement said the UK will this week begin delivering nine million Covid-19 vaccine doses around the world, including to Malaysia, with five million offered to the Covax initiative.

The AstraZeneca doses given to Malaysia are made by Oxford Biomedica in Oxford and packaged in Wrexham, North Wales.

They are part of the first tranche of the 100 million doses that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at last month’s G7 meeting in Cornwall, pledged that his country will share within the next year, with 30 million due to be sent by year-end.

At least 80 million of these doses will go to Covax, and the rest directly to nations. – Bernama, July 28, 2021