PUTRAJAYA: The second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine would be given 21 days after the first one, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
“So we will give 21 days apart, not any later than that. Unless there is a new clinical data,” he told reporters after launching the Malaysia Grand Challenge here Friday.
He was commenting on a warning by German firm BioNTech, which developed the vaccine with US giant Pfizer, that there is no data backing the “safety and efficacy” of delaying the second shot of its Covid-19 vaccine beyond three weeks, as some countries push back the jab to give more people their first dose.
Meanwhile, he said the government is still in discussion with Russia to procure its Covid-19 vaccine and for the proposed transfer of technology in enhancing the country’s capacity in vaccine production.
“We are looking at Russia’s proposal because it adds value to our pharmaceutical capabilities,” he said.
Meanwhile, in KUCHING, two babies, aged four months and a year, are among the latest Covid-19 positive cases detected in Sarawak, bringing the cumulative number of positive cases in the state to 1,196 Friday.
The Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) said in a statement Friday that the first baby, confirmed as the 1,191st case, had a fever on Dec 25 and tested positive for Covid-19 Friday after being screened on Jan 7.
The second baby, who is a year old and the 1,181st case in the state, was confirmed positive Thursday and was a close contact of a previously reported Covid-19 case.
From the total positive cases today, 10 cases were detected in Kuching district, four in Miri district and one each in Samarahan and Julau districts.
Meanwhile, five new cases have recovered and discharged Friday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,090, or 91.14 per cent from the total Covid-19 cases in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, the state JPBN also announced that Kuching district changed from yellow to orange status today after recording a cumulative total of 25 cases of local infection, while Samarahan district changed from green to yellow status after recording one case of local infection today.
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