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Malaysia rolls out China-made COVID-19 vaccine
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin became the first Malaysian to get the first dose of the vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech.
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Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin received the first dose of the vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech on March 18, 2021. (The Jakarta Post/Twitter)
M
alaysia began rolling out the China-made Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, three weeks after it kicked off a nationwide immunization program using a vaccine developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin became the first Malaysian to get the first dose of the vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech.
"I offered myself to be the first to receive the Sinovac vaccine due to my confidence in the evaluation process and the decision by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency on the safety and efficacy level and its stability," he told reporters after receiving his jab.
Khairy is also the minister in charge of the national immunization program.
On Feb. 24, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin launched the country's largest inoculation drive by becoming the first to receive a shot of the Pfizer vaccine.
Besides Pfizer and Sinovac, Malaysia has also granted conditional approval for the use of a vaccine produced by Britain's AstraZeneca.
Malaysia is also purchasing a vaccine made by Russia, but local regulators have yet to give the green light for its rollout.
Meanwhile, Khairy said he will soon begin negotiations with the Chinese government on "mutual recognition" for Malaysia's vaccination certificate to enable travel between the two countries.
Malaysia has already started talks with neighboring Singapore on the matter.
"The Foreign Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan is coming to Malaysia next week, where we hope we can agree in principle to mutually recognize our digital vaccination certificates. Both Malaysia and Singapore digital certificates are done (using) blockchain technology, and this will enable us to facilitate travel between our countries and also other countries that recognize our certificate," he said.
