Letters | How Malaysia can help the world achieve vaccine equity
- Low-income countries continue to be under-vaccinated in the third year of the pandemic
- Malaysia is contributing to the global vaccine drive as a donor and a manufacturer, and it can offer training in aid of vaccine roll-outs overseas
As we enter the third year of the global Covid-19 pandemic, vaccine inequity remains one of the greatest threats to economic recovery. Low-income countries have been lagging far behind in terms of Covid-19 vaccination rates. According to the UNDP’s Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity, only a meagre 21.4 per cent of populations in low-income countries have been vaccinated with at least one dose as of August 10, as compared to 72.3 per cent in high-income countries.
It’s time for Malaysia to do more to address vaccine inequity, in line with Malaysia’s historical record of championing developing countries. Over the past year, Malaysia has donated Covid-19 vaccines to countries with low vaccination rates, such as Bangladesh, Laos and Myanmar. This noble initiative should continue.
As an aspiring global vaccine manufacturing hub, Malaysia plays a highly significant role in promoting global vaccine equity. In fact, the Institute for Medical Research at the National Institutes of Health is currently developing two types of Covid-19 vaccines – one based on the inactivated virus, and the other mRNA-based.
Moreover, Malaysian Vaccines and Pharmaceuticals is producing vaccines for animals, while Pharmaniaga LifeScience is conducting the fill-and-finish of Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccines and Solution Biologics is formulating CanSinoBIO’s Covid-19 vaccines.
