This photograph from the Malaysian Department of Information, taken and published on November 26, 2020, shows the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin (2nd L), making a greeting when he arrives for a session in the Malaysian Parliament in Kuala Lumpur.
Nazri Rapaai | Malaysian Department of Information | AFP via Getty Images
Malaysia has signed an agreement to acquire 6.4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine and is in final talks with Chinese and Russian manufacturers to get more, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Tuesday.
The Southeast Asian country has already reached 12.8 million doses of its agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech signed last month, as well as its participation in the global COVAX facility, with the support of the World Organization of Health (WHO).
“This means we have secured the supply of vaccines to cover 40% (of the population),” Muhyiddin said in a televised speech.
Malaysia expects to buy enough supplies to inoculate 26.5 million people, or more than 80% of its population.
The government is now in final negotiations with Chinese manufacturers Sinovac and CanSino, as well as with Russia’s Gamaleya Institute to cover the rest, Muhyiddin said.
Acquisition agreements are expected to cost $ 504.4 million (2.04 million ringgit) in total, he said.
In order to increase confidence in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, Muhyiddin said he would be among the first to receive a dose, followed by leaders and high-risk groups such as the elderly.
The government expects to receive the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February, he added. Malaysia was the first Southeast Asian country to reach an agreement with the US drug maker.
Under the Pfizer agreement, it will receive 1 million doses in the first quarter of 2021 and 1.7 million, 5.8 million and 4.3 million doses in subsequent quarters.
Singapore’s neighbor was the first Asian country to receive the Pfizer vaccine on Monday when its first batch arrived from Belgium.