MALAYSIA will continue to monitor developments related to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Khairy Jamaluddin said while reiterating the government’s stance on the vaccine.

He said Malaysian authorities have been assured by the British pharmaceutical company that there is no data to suggest the link between the vaccine and the incidence of blood clot and death among recipients in Europe.

Several European countries have temporarily suspended the use of the vaccine by the British-Swedish firm following reports on blood clots among adults who received the jab in Norway and the death of an Austrian nurse. 

However, the European Medicines Agency said recently that there is no evidence linking the death of the nurse to the vaccine.

“We have just received information from AstraZeneca regarding the effects of the vaccination,” he said at the weekly press conference on the vaccination programme.

“So far there is no data to suggest the direct links between the vaccination and the blood clots which caused deaths in a few countries.”

He said the government will continue to monitor clinical data related to the vaccine and will decide based on the conclusion of experts.

Khairy added that the government has not changed its stance regarding the vaccine so far.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Adham Baba who was also at the press conference said the government is confident of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency’s evaluation on the vaccine.

On the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, he said the government has decided to not proceed with the procurement as the doses and the delivery schedule offered by the manufacturer was not suitable to Malaysia’s needs. – March 15, 2021.