China-made Sinovac jab a shot in the arm for Malaysia’s coronavirus vaccination programme, minister says

Science minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who heads the programme, took the Sinovac vaccine live on air to allay concerns about its efficacy and safety

The government’s move to authorise the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines is expected to boost its vaccination drive, which previously had only used the Pfizer-BioNTech jab

Reading Time:3 minutes

Malaysia’s science minister Khairy Jamaluddin has become the first person in the country to receive the Sinovac vaccine. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:33pm, 18 Mar 2021Updated: 6:47pm, 18 Mar 2021

The head of Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination programme, Khairy Jamaluddin – who on Thursday became the first person in the country to receive the Sinovac inoculation – has stressed that domestic trials showed the China-made vaccine was “safe and good”.

The minister for science, technology and innovation had earlier turned down the opportunity to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, saying he wanted to receive the Chinese-made alternative so as to allay concerns among citizens about its efficacy and safety. His vaccination was aired live on local television.

In a lighthearted start to a press conference following his jab, the 45-year-old minister spoke briefly in Mandarin. “Hello everyone, I’m Khairy. I’ve been vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine and look, my Mandarin has improved!” he said.

The minister said he had offered himself to be first to receive the vaccine “based on the trust towards the evaluation and decisions made by the NPRA [National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency] in ensuring the safety, efficacy and stability of the vaccines given in Malaysia”.

“There is no need to doubt Sinovac and it is now a part of the national immunisation programme,” Khairy said, adding that more than 60 million doses of the Chinese-made vaccine had been administered worldwide.

He also noted that the Sinovac vaccine had received emergency use authorisation from 27 territories including Hong Kong, Turkey, Indonesia and Thailand, adding that Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been among the recipients.

“I want to tell Malaysians that if you get your appointment and you get to your vaccination centre, and if the vaccination centre is giving you the Sinovac vaccine, take it. It is a safe and good vaccine,” Khairy said.