KHAIRY Jamaluddin will take the next vaccine approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) in a move to boost public confidence in these vaccines.

“I made a decision yesterday that I will take whichever vaccine that will be approved next for use in Malaysia,” said the science, technology and innovation minister.

“And I don’t know which one it is going to be, if Sinovac, then Sinovac. If Sputnik, then Sputnik. If Astra-Zaneca, then Astra-Zaneca but I will be the first to take the next vaccine,” the minister told reporters at the press conference held at Kuala Lumpur International Airport today after receiving the first batch of Sinovac vaccines from China at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The coordinating minister of the national Covid-19 immunisation programme said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been successfully proven and safe for use.

“Our prime minister, health director-general, defence minister, as well as many ministers and front-liners have started receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

“So, the public is more confident with the Pfizer vaccine because there are no side effects seen.

“Instead, now the people are saying, ‘oh, the leaders all got Pfizer, the good stuff. And the other vaccines are for ordinary people’,” Khairy said.

There is selective vaccine hesitancy whereby some want to pick a particular vaccine, he said.

“We are seeing some selected hesitancy, there are those who really want the Pfizer vaccine, there are those who really want the Sinovac vaccine. These are all views that we have to listen to.

“At the moment, the government’s position is please take whatever it is the NPRA has approved. It is safe and efficacious.

“That is why I have offered myself to take whatever it is that the NPRA has approved next, as a demonstration of vaccine confidence and also my confidence towards NPRA,” Khairy said.

As at 7am today, more than 1.18 million registrations have been made through the MySejahtera app.

And until yesterday, in many state-level launches, a total of 3,580 people have been injected with the Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia.

The first batch of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine arrived at the KLIA at 9am, almost a week after the country received the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Malaysia is scheduled to obtain 14 million doses of the Sinovac vaccines in stages that will protect 22% of its population against Covid-19.

The NIP started on February 24 with the vaccination of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin alongside frontline staff. – February 27, 2021.