Malaysia to finalise Covid-19 vaccine selection by early 2021: Khairy

Kuala Lumpur: The government is expected to be able to decide on the Covid-19 vaccine by early next year, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Khairy said the data from several Covid-19 vaccine clinical tests would only be analysed at the end of this year.

He said the ministry was discussing with the health and finance ministries and the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the legal implication and procurement model for the vaccine.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We are also in discussion with other international pharmaceutical companies for direct supply without having to undergo the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) allocation plan,” he said after launching the first wireless mobile phone charger in Malaysia, known as METT (Malaysian Energy Transmission Technology).

“I have also requested an agreement with China to be finalised as soon as possible as the draft is almost completed.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Khairy said the negotiation with Covax on Malaysia’s participation in the facility to obtain the required Covid-19 vaccine was ongoing.

“We are still discussing some matters with Covax. The facility is for early purchase, so the procurement model is quite extraordinary. We pay for something that still doesn’t exist,” he said.

Among the companies that have started final Covid-19 vaccine clinical tests are Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, AstraZeneca, University of Oxford and Johnson & Johnson.