It was suggested during Parliament today (17 December) that Members of Parliament be the first ones to be vaccinated with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to help Malaysians have more confidence in the safety of the vaccine.
The idea was proposed by Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng in the Dewan Rakyat today, to which Khairy Jamaluddin agreed that it was a “good suggestion” and that Putrajaya will consider it once the vaccine arrives in Malaysia.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation said in a Twitter post that the suggestion will be considered as it could help Malaysians have more confidence in the safety of the vaccine, but also pointed out that there are two conflicting views on the idea.
“YB Lim Guan Eng made a good suggestion that MPs get vaccinated first to give confidence to the people that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe. We will consider this proposal. There are two schools of thought,” he said.
“For those who are hesitant, they want politicians to be vaccinated first. If there are no problems, they will take it. For those who are confident of the vaccines, they want politicians to get it last so that others are prioritised.”
“The vaccine committee I jointly chair with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba will make recommendations on groups that will be prioritised for vaccination based on risk assessment.”
Meanwhile, Khairy added during the parliamentary session that the government is also considering other vaccine candidates that are already in the third phase of its clinical trial. He said the decision will be announced in the near future.
According to Harian Metro, Khairy said the selection of the Pfizer vaccine was based on an interim report of a clinical trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine on 10 December.
“It shows that the vaccine was found to have a 95 percent effectiveness in preventing Covid-19 infection and the government also has access to data to assess its quality, safety and level of effectiveness,” he said.
“The vaccine is also approved for emergency use (EUA) from seven countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Singapore.”
“However, the decision to use the vaccine in Malaysia is still subject to registration and approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division (NPRA) of the Ministry of Health.”
“This process has begun and all data provided by Pfizer will be scrutinized by NPRA.”
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments below!
Also read: Saifuddin Insults Hannah Yeoh Saying She’s One Of The Reasons “PH Govt Didn’t Last Long”
