PUTRAJAYA: Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has clarified that the government will not approve the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in Malaysia.
His comments come after the UK government authorised the vaccine for emergency cases earlier today, becoming the first country in the world to do so.
“The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK has approved the use of the vaccine, but that does not mean it has been registered. They are only using it for emergencies.
“In Malaysia, we will not make any exceptions to use the vaccine for emergencies. This is to ensure the safety of all,” he said at a press conference today.
However, Noor Hisham said the health ministry would monitor the use of the vaccine when the UK begins to receive their 40 million doses next week, looking at its effectiveness and signs of side-effects among British nationals.
“If the first three months of its use prove to be impressive with no reports of side effects, then we will be confident in using the vaccine. But for now, we need more data from phase three clinical trials before any other decision is made.”
Last week, Malaysia signed a preliminary purchasing agreement with Pfizer to procure 12.8 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. This will cover 6.4 million Malaysians, or 20% of the country’s population.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said regulatory clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration and Malaysia’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency will be required before the vaccine can be used here.
He added that one million doses would be delivered in the first quarter of next year, followed by 1.7 million, 5.8 million and 4.3 million doses in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2021 respectively.
Malaysia has also signed an agreement with the Covax facility, whose vaccine will cover another 10% of Malaysia’s population.
