‘Malaysia will use AstraZeneca’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will take delivery of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as planned, thus ensuring that the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme proceeds as scheduled.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said the government was confident in the conditional approval issued by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) for the vaccine to be used in Malaysia.

However, he said, the NPRA would study additional documents on the vaccine’s side effects, which had been widely reported in several countries and led to its suspension.

“We are confident in NPRA’s decision to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine. We have taken into account its effectiveness, safety and quality in securing its approval.

“We are exercising caution on what was reported (in cases elsewhere).

“We are taking all necessary precautions and take into account the factors that make an individual unable to be inoculated.

“We will continue to advise the people on the latest developments and give our assurance that the vaccination programme is a commendable one,” he told Berita Harian.

Some countries, including Denmark, Norway and Iceland, have temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure after a number of vaccine recipients experienced blood clots.

The World Health Organisation said there was no reason to halt the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as data showed no evidence of a link between the vaccine and blood clots.

The vaccine received conditional approval from the NPRA on March 2.

Malaysia will receive the vaccine this month.

Dr Adham said the Health Ministry had taken note of a report by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on 30 blood clot cases that occurred among five million people who had received the vaccine in Europe.

However, EMA said there had been no indication that the vaccine contributed to the cases, and that it was not listed as one of the side effects.

“We are unable to draw any conclusion at this juncture and will need to analyse the facts behind these cases first,” said Dr Adham.

Source: NST