PUTRAJAYA, April 6 — The government has decided to proceed with the use of the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said today.
According to Dr Adham, this decision was made during the vaccine committee meeting this morning based on clinical data which proved the benefits outweighed the harm.
“We will continue to use AstraZeneca in our country, as based on clinical data that we have obtained, we found that there are still more benefits compared to harm,” he told reporters when met here at the Health Ministry.
Dr Adham was responding to reporters’ questions on the continued administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Malaysia following cases of blood clots and deaths in Europe.
On Sunday, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin assured Malaysians that the government has prepared several backup plans in the event that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine was found to be unsuitable for use in the country.
He also said that a group of experts has been following the development of the vaccine and took note of several cases of blood clots identified by the regulatory body in the United Kingdom.
According to Khairy, Malaysia is scheduled to start receiving deliveries of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in May, which involved the procurement of 6.4 million doses for 3.2 million people.
