KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will receive 2.7 million doses of the new generation, or bivalent, Covid-19 vaccines to replace the Health Ministry’s nearly expired stock.
Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said though the country was able to replace the vaccines, according to the data obtained, only 2.5% of the population have taken the second booster shot. Therefore, the ministry may need to destroy the expired vaccines, he added.
He said this when winding up the debate on the White Paper on Covid-19 Vaccine Procurement before it was approved by the Dewan Rakyat here today.
Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa had previously said that the ministry was still negotiating with Pfizer Sdn Bhd regarding the Covid-19 bivalent vaccine.
Lukanisman said the additional purchase and receipt of vaccine donations from foreign countries contributed to the surplus of vaccine stocks and this was not according to the plan under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).
He said as of June 1, there were 8.5 million vaccines of various brands that had expired at Health Ministry facilities and vaccine storage warehouses.
“The disposal process and reporting on vaccine stocks are carried out in accordance with the asset management procedures and store management procedures in force. Monitoring of vaccine disposal is also carried out periodically,” he said.
He also informed that a total of 27,550,124 or 84.4% of the population have received the complete primary dose of the vaccine, 16,335,715 individuals or 50% have received a booster dose, while 823,495 individuals or 2.5% have received a second booster dose as of May 30.
Meanwhile, he said from December 2020 to April 30 this year, the government spent RM5.885 billion on the implementation of PICK, including PICKids – of which RM5.348 billion was through the Health Ministry, while another RM537.5 million was through the Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministry.
This was through the utilisation of the Covid-19 Fund and the National Trust Fund.
In addition, he said the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division had received 26,717 reports of adverse events following immunisation from February 2021 until last April 30 and only 1,868 reports or 7% involved serious adverse effects.
On the Special Financial Assistance for Covid-19 Vaccine Side Effects, he said 319 applications were received and 150 of them had been approved involving a total payment of RM2.5 million until May 31. – Bernama, June 12, 2023
