PUTRAJAYA – Malaysia is still discussing with the Saudi Arabian government on the types of vaccine allowed for individuals wanting to perform the umrah pilgrimage in the kingdom, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
“The ongoing discussion is to avoid vaccine discrimination as we have found that all the Covid-19 vaccines (used in Malaysia) are safe and effective,” he said during the handing over of the Malaysia Corporate Family contribution at the Health Ministry (MoH) here today.
The Saudi Arabian government was previously reported as accepting only four types of vaccines – Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna – for individuals wanting to go to the kingdom.
In July, Saudi Arabia announced that individuals fully vaccinated with the Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccine are accepted into the country on the condition that they had received a booster dose from vaccines recognised by it.
Meanwhile, Khairy said the MySejahtera app will have a new feature starting next month to enable the applications of individuals needing a booster dose to meet conditions set by other countries – including for performing the umrah and hajj.
At today’s ceremony, MoH received 81 electric tilt beds worth RM2 million from Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) through its A’fiat TH 2021 programme to meet the need for additional beds at the intensive care units of selected hospitals.
“These beds are also for other vital units that manage non-Covid-19 cases during the transition from the pandemic to endemic phase,” said Khairy, expressing his appreciation for the TH contribution.
He added that the contribution is from the extended A’fiat TH 2020 programme – of which, TH contributed 57 haemodialysis machines worth almost RM2 million to 42 government hospitals. – Bernama, October 20, 2021
