MALAYSIANS who have received the Sinovac vaccine are questioning the government if there are “hidden” reasons behind their decision to ditch the usage of the China-manufactured vaccine from the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. 

They want Putrajaya to be transparent with the reason on its sudden decision to switch vaccines from Sinovac to Pfizer once supplies of the former are used up. 

On Thursday, Health Minister Dr Adham Baba said Malaysia will stop administering the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine under the immunisation programme once supplies are finished. 

Adham said the ministry will increase the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine under the programme, with Malaysia having procured more than 45 million doses.

A recipient from Kuala Lumpur, who only wanted to be known as Ridwan, asked if the decision has to do with the efficacy of the vaccine against the highly contagious Delta variant.

“Is the government trying to hide something from us with this switch?

“Have they now discovered that the Sinovac vaccine is not highly effective in protecting those who received it?

“If that’s the case, they have to clear the air and inform us if we need a booster jab,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Coordinating minister for the vaccination programme Khairy Jamaluddin said the decision to stop giving Sinovac vaccines is because Malaysia will receive all doses ordered by the end of July.

The science, technology and innovation minister dismissed speculations that the country’s decision has to do with concerns over the vaccine’s efficacy.

The decision to switch vaccines to the Pfizer brand came to light when the Kelantan health department said it will be halting use of the Sinovac vaccine at the end of this month. 

Khairy said that the delivery of Sinovac vaccines was to last until November initially, but the government had requested for its shipment to be brought forward to speed up the country’s vaccination drive.

He said from August onwards, Pfizer-BioNTech doses will be the main drug used for the national vaccination programme.

Malaysia has secured enough Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses to cover 70% of the population, compared to 16 million Sinovac doses.

Meanwhile, some countries have raised doubts about the efficacy of China-manufactured vaccines against the Delta variant, and now Thailand and Indonesia say they will give a booster shot to healthcare workers who have received the Sinovac vaccine.

Recent studies in the U.K. found that vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca are highly effective at preventing severe illness caused by the Delta variant, while their overall protection against infection may be reduced. A separate study of the Pfizer vaccine conducted in Israel showed similar outcomes. 

Sinovac is said to be studying the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine against the Delta variant, but has yet to release any data.

Another Sinovac recipient, who declined to be named, questioned if the decision to ditch the Chinese vaccine was a cautious move against potential travel restriction issues.

“Recently, some countries, especially in Europe, have refused to accept China-made vaccines. 

“So, did the government make a U-turn upon learning this? Or are there any other reasons behind this, besides supply,” she asked.

Meena, who has received both her Sinovac doses, also mirrored this view, and asked Khairy and Adham to come forward and clarify the public’s doubts. 

She said it is better for the government to be transparent rather than the public finding the truth later. 

“If there is something that the government needs to address, they better do it early before the public find out the truth themselves.

“Effectiveness, travel ban, booster jab… or anything, we trust the government will be transparent with those who received the vaccine,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lee said regardless of the type of vaccine, he is happy that he is now vaccinated. 

He believes that protecting health trumps all other reasons.

“Eventually, the decision on travel ban and all will be sorted out later but health protection is most important. 

“All vaccines give some form of protection. So, it doesn’t matter the brand. For example, if A is better than B, that doesn’t mean B is not effective at all. 

“Maybe there will be a third jab or a booster shot later by the manufacturer, or we can follow Thailand and Indonesia in getting either Pfizer or AstraZeneca for the third dose,” he said. 

Recently, the EU said that not all Covid-19 vaccines are equal, throwing travellers’ plans into disarray and undermining confidence in shots taken. 

EU regulators have refused to recognise vaccines made in India, China and Russia despite their WHO approval. This has led to accusations of discrimination and increasing public mistrust of vaccinations. 

Vaccines approved by the WHO are Comirnaty (Pfizer), Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca), Covishield (AstraZeneca produced in India), Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Spikevax (Moderna), as well as the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac-CoronaVac.

Currently, only nine countries in the EU and Schengen area that admit travellers with all vaccines authorised by the WHO. These are Finland, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland.

Malaysia has spent RM3.5 billion to procure Covid-19 vaccines for 120% of the population in Malaysia, or 38.5 million people. – July 17, 2021.