Kuala Lumpur June 2 — The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) approval of the Sinovac vaccine is a boost of confidence for the country, says Khairy Jamaluddin.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister
said that the 12 million doses supply of Sinovac will ensure that 18% of our population will benefit from the vaccine.
“It’s safe and effective,” he said in a tweet on Wednesday (June 2).
Sinovac is one of three vaccines that have been approved for use in Malaysia, with Khairy previously saying that all Sinovac doses will be delivered to the country by July.
The WHO had on Monday (June 1) validated the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving countries, funders, procuring agencies and communities the assurance that it meets international standards for safety, efficacy and manufacturing.
“The world desperately needs multiple Covid-19 vaccines to address the huge access inequity across the globe, ” said Dr Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Health Products in a statement.
“We urge manufacturers to participate in the Covax Facility, share their know-how and data and contribute to bringing the pandemic under control,” she added.
The Sinovac vaccine is an inactivated vaccine, with its easy storage requirements make it very manageable and particularly suitable for low-resource settings, said the WHO.
On the basis of available evidence, the WHO recommended the vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older in a two-dose schedule with a spacing of two to four weeks.
Vaccine efficacy results showed that the vaccine prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe Covid-19 and hospitalisation in 100% of the studied population,” said the WHO. (THESTAR)
