MALAYSIA today received 200,000 shots of the single-dose CanSino Covid-19 vaccine from Beijing, China, 

The vaccines produced by CanSino Biologics were delivered by MAS Cargo flight MH361 and arrived at 7.50am.

The Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry said the batch was the first of 3.5 million doses ordered from CanSino to arrive.

“This new supply will enhance the national Covid-19 immunisation programme especially in areas with low access and help Malaysia achieve its goal of herd immunity in line with the national recovery programme,” the ministry said in a statement.

The CanSino vaccine is approved for emergency use by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Division and the Drug Control Authority on June 15.

It is the first single-dose vaccine to be used in Malaysia. 

It is the fourth brand of vaccine available in Malaysia after Cominarty by Pfizer-BioNTech, CoronaVac by Sinovac, and Vaxzevria or Covishield by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

The national immunisation programme started on February 24.

To date, 51.6% of the adult population have been fully inoculated while 76.1% have received one dose of the vaccine. – August 20, 2021.