PETALING JAYA: Malaysia should widen its options in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine. One way is to join Covax, the global initiative to provide access to Covid-19 vaccines, as soon as possible.

Otherwise, Malaysia should look to other countries, including Singapore, that are developing their own vaccines, according to health experts.

Dr Sanjay Rampal, professor of epidemiology and public health at Universiti Malaya, said Malaysia should ink an agreement to join Covax and make the upfront payment of RM94.08 million as soon as possible to ensure that at least 10% of the population is vaccinated.

“We should maintain Covax as an option given its bigger basket of vaccine candidates even if the government has already signed a deal with China to enhance its access to the Chinese vaccine,” Sanjay told theSun yesterday.

He pointed out that Covax, an initiative of the World Health Organisation, the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, already has a portfolio of 18 vaccine candidates.

“With Covax, there will be a bigger potential of finding a successful vaccine that will help to bring the pandemic under control.”

Otherwise, he said, it would be difficult for Malaysia to gain access to the mRNA vaccine candidates being developed by Pfizer and Moderna.

“Due to the short follow-up of these studies, it may still be too early to bet the farm on a single vaccine candidate,” he added.

Sanjay also pointed out that it is difficult to assess the results as claimed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (Sinopharm) that its vaccine has already been used by over a million people.

He also stressed that while the interim results have provided optimism, a cautious mid-to-long-term approach is necessary in terms of efficacy and safety.

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“We are still unsure if there will be rare side effects, and caution is essential if we are going to vaccinate more than 30 million Malaysians.”

Sanjay speculated that Malaysia could have delayed joining Covax to have a wider range of possibilities.

Virologist Prof Dr Lam Sai Kit is of the view that Malaysia is unlikely to get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines anytime soon even if the country joins the Covax initiative.

“Many rich countries have already pre-ordered vaccines by both companies, leaving countries like Malaysia out in the cold,” he said in a media statement last Friday.

Lam, who was recently appointed to the 12-member global task force of The Lancet Covid-19 Commission, said Malaysia should instead look to other countries such as Singapore.

However, an immediate end to the Covid-19 crisis remains unlikely even if a vaccine is available now.

According to Sanjay, the most optimistic scenario is the pandemic persisting as a global public health threat until 2022.

“One large caveat is that the vaccine, at least for now, is unlikely to be the silver bullet of this pandemic. We will have to continue living with the virus but in a more sustainable and cost-effective way,” he added.

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Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin told the Dewan Rakyat last week that the government decided on Nov 13 that Malaysia would join Covax, but was still in the midst of seeking a date to sign the agreement.

Prior to that, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the country was waiting for the data from the third phase of clinical trials for all vaccine candidates to determine which is safe and effective.

Currently, 12 vaccine manufacturing companies are conducting Phase Three of clinical trials for their respective vaccines.