PUTRAJAYA – Malaysia will continuously evaluate all types of COVID-19 vaccines being developed including the nasal spray type for the immunisation programme, said Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, Khairy Jamaluddin.
However, he said Malaysia currently had made adequate COVID-19 vaccine bookings for the use of the population in the country.
“Malaysia has ordered enough vaccine to cover 110 per cent of our population.
“If we later decide that the nature of this pandemic has become endemic, that it is here to stay, then obviously there will be longer term procurement strategy for vaccines,” he said.
He was speaking at a media conference on the development of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme with Health Minister (MOH) Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba here, today.
On phase two of the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, Khairy said 129 vaccination centres (PPV) would be opened nationwide at the end of May.
Currently, he said 60 PPV had been activated in 12 states and the states which had conducted the highest vaccination under second phase were Penang, Pahang and Sarawak.
Meanwhile, Khairy said 1,500 media practitioners who are members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the journalist associations in Sarawak and Sabah would receive their COVID-19 vaccine injections next month.
“I am happy to announce that we will begin vaccinating media practitioners in May,’’ he said.
Prior to this, Khairy was reported as saying that the government had agreed to put media practitioners in the priority list for receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, subject to availability of vaccine supply.
MOH to continue community screening
The Health Ministry (MOH) in a related development, has said it will continue to conduct community screenings to detect COVID-19 infection so that control and preventive measures can be taken immediately to prevent the occurrence of large clusters, said its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
He said the MOH was concerned with the increase in COVID-19 cases, especially in Sarawak, Kelantan and Selangor after the average daily reported COVID-19 cases in the country exceeded 2,500 cases from April 20.
Dr Adham said his team would increase screenings using “health screening booths” in collaboration with private health services and health volunteers, especially in the red zone areas.
In a statement today, he said targeted screenings would also be conducted in localities where COVID-19 prevalence exceeds 10 per cent based on concordance tests using the Antigen Rapid Test Kit (RTK-Ag).
He also said border control and the management of travellers from abroad were also tightened to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and its new variants from entering the country.
“The country’s borders are closed to travellers from India following the increase in cases with the detection of new variants there.
“The quarantine period has been increased to 14 days for all travellers from countries who report the spread of COVID-19 variants of concern,” he added.
Committed to safety
Biopharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca and its global manufacturing partners including Siam Bioscience Co. Ltd (Siam Bioscience) meawhile have said that they are committed to maintain the highest safety and quality standards of their COVID-19 vaccine.
Country President, AstraZeneca (Thailand) Ltd, James Teague said each batch of the vaccine undergoes more than 60 different quality control tests during its journey from manufacture to vaccination.
“The process takes time, and it is designed to assure every person who is given the vaccine that it is of the same high quality that can be expected from any AstraZeneca product,” he said in a statement.
Siam Bioscience, the only biopharmaceuticals manufacturer in Thailand that produces COVID-19 vaccine for eight Southeast Asia countries, is scheduled to produce its first batch of vaccine to the Thailand Government in June of this year.
The plant has passed the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), a system ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards. The company’s plants also achieved multiple international standards such as ISO9001, ISO17025, and ISO13485.
AstraZeneca together with Siam Bioscience, have been working tirelessly to ensure that the facility is on track to safely deliver supply to support the national vaccination campaign.
Teague said Thailand will play a central role to support our neighbours in Southeast Asia to combat COVID-19.
“We all have the same objective, to get effective vaccines to everybody as quickly as possible but safely. At the core of everything we do is the health and well-being of the Thai people.
“Patient Safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca. Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes our COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca,” he said.
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has been granted a conditional marketing authorization for emergency use in more than 70 countries, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Use Listing now accelerating the pathway to access in up to 142 countries through the COVAX Facility.
Meanwhile, Bangkok Post reported that samples of AstraZeneca vaccine licensed to be produced by Siam Bioscience have passed the standard set by Department of Medical Sciences (DMS).
Its director-general Dr Supakit Sirilak said the samples of five models of the vaccine, which had been tested for consistency in production were presented to the department for approval.
“The vaccine passed the full tests for requirements such as chemical composition and safety. The results of the analysis of the vaccine’s quality will be cited in support of having the vaccine mass-produced by Siam Bioscience,” he said.
