PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian government, through the Health Ministry, has signed a preliminary purchasing agreement with pharmaceutical company Pfizer to obtain 12.8 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to meet the immunisation needs of 20 per cent or 6.4 million Malaysians.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the agreement, signed on Tuesday (Nov 24), aimed to ensure the government had access to data to assess the vaccine’s quality, safety and effectiveness while also ensuring access once it was ready for distribution.

“Pfizer on Nov 9 stated that the first interim data analysis showed that vaccine efficacy was at 95 per cent.”

“Through this agreement, Pfizer has pledged to deliver one million doses, 1.7 million doses, 5.8 million doses and 4.3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the first, second, third and fourth quarters of 2021,” he told a virtual media conference here, today.

Also present were Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba and Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Muhyiddin, however, said Pfizer would still need approval from the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and regulatory approval from the producing country. These approvals should be attained besides getting approval from the Health Ministry’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) for the vaccine to be used in Malaysia.

The prime minister said the government had also inked a deal with the Covid-19 vaccine global access (COVAX) facility for 10 per cent of Malaysians, adding that with the signing of the two agreements, Malaysia now expects to guarantee Covid-19 vaccine access for 30 per cent of Malaysians.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin said once in hand, the vaccination process will be done in stages, with priority for high-risk groups prone to the Covid-19 infection.

“They include frontliners, senior citizens and patients with non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and so on,“ he said.

The prime minister went on to say that the Health Ministry (MoH) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) were still actively negotiating with developers globally for adequate access to the vaccine.

Muhyiddin also announced that the MoH would begin the Phase 3 clinical research of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Institute of Medical Biology Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMBCAMS) via a government-to-government initiative with China.

The study will involve 3,000 participants and will evaluate the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, he said.

He said the study, which is expected to begin next month, will be conducted by the local clinical studies organisation (CRO) and has been registered in the National Medical Research Register (NMRR).

“The vaccine safety profile will first be reviewed by NPRA to obtain the Clinical Trial Import License (CTIL) and the research protocol will be reviewed by the Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC) to ensure that the study will be conducted in accordance with guidelines set by the MoH,“ he said.

Muhyiddin also said the study would involve eight clinical research centres under the supervision of the MoH.

“The government wants to assure the people that in order for the vaccine to be used in Malaysia, it must pass strict conditions set by the NPRA. The government will never compromise on this matter,” he said.

-Bernama

KOTA KINABALU: Pitas and Kalabakan have been declared red zones after both areas recorded over 40 active Covid-19 cases today, bringing the total number of red zone districts in Sabah to 15.

Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who is also the official spokesman for the state government on Covid-19, said that based on a report by the State Health Department, Pitas recorded an increase of four new cases today from yesterday’s total of 40, making the district go from an orange zone to a red zone.

He said Kalabakan also recorded four new cases to turn the district, which was previously a yellow zone, into a red zone, with a total of 43 active cases in 14 days.

“Sabah recorded 441 new Covid-19 positive cases today, taking the state’s cumulative tally to 27,679.

“A total of 192 cases, or 43.54 per cent of the new cases, stemmed from close contact screening involving Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Sandakan,” he said in a statement today, adding that 738 patients had fully recovered to take the recovery tally in Sabah to 24,519.

A total of 2,027 patients are still being treated, with 663 at hospitals and 1,364 others at the Covid-19 Low-Risk Quarantine and Treatment Centre. A total of 74 patients are in the intensive care unit, with 21 still intubated.

Meanwhile, Masidi said the state government expressed its appreciation to Sarawak-based Samling Timber Sdn Bhd for contributing RM500,000 into the State Natural Disaster Fund to help Covid-19 victims. -Bernama