KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 — Malaysia is open to participating in tests that two Chinese pharmaceutical companies could conduct to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), said Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The Health director-general said Malaysia was also looking at how it could collaborate with countries working on similar vaccines.

"We will reach out to a few countries that have the capacity to conduct vaccine research and we will look at how we can collaborate with these countries.

"We are also looking at how we can offer Malaysia as a destination to conduct these researches,” he said during MOH’s daily press conference today.

He added that the Health Ministry is also hopeful that Malaysia can be identified as a country that can be involved with formulating a vaccine for Covid-19. 

Yesterday, Dr Noor Hisham said that Malaysia is ready to participate in vaccine trials if chosen by any country that produces it.

He said the participation is vital as it could ensure Malaysia is prioritised for the supply once a Covid-19 vaccine is developed.

He also said that Malaysia is ready to receive the vaccine so that the research can be conducted here and the effectiveness of the vaccine can be monitored.