KUALA LUMPUR: The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) under the Health Ministry has received the clinical data from Pfizer on the Covid-19 vaccine, says Khairy Jamaluddin.
The Science, Technology and Innovations Minister said the decision to use the Pfizer vaccine lies with the NPRA, which would need to register and approve the vaccine, and the Health Ministry.
“The process has begun and all data that has been supplied by Pfizer will be looked into by the NPRA.
“The supply of Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer is expected to be received in the first quarter of next year, comprising 12.8 million doses, to help immunise 20% or 6.4 million Malaysians, ” said Khairy in reply to Lim Guan Eng (PH-Bagan) during the Ministerial Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat here on Thursday (Dec 17).
Lim had asked why the Pfizer vaccine was chosen and not vaccines produced by other companies including those from the United States, China, and Russia.
He had also asked about the differences in terms of costs and efficacy.
Khairy said the government inked the deal with Pfizer on Nov 24 and it was chosen based on the interim clinical reports published in The New England Journal of Medicine, which showed that the vaccine had a 95% efficacy rate in preventing Covid-19 infections.
The government had also gained data access to look into the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine, he added.
“The vaccine has also received Emergency Use Authorisation from seven countries including the United Kingdom, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Singapore, ” he noted.
Khairy added that the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee is looking into other vaccine candidates that are in phase three clinical trials.
“The announcement on this as well as the priority list on who receives the vaccines first will be announced in the near future, ” he said. – THE STAR