Coronavirus: Malaysia secures 12.8 million Pfizer vaccines as China assures Muhyiddin of ‘priority status’

The US firm will deliver one million doses in the first quarter of 2021, and the deal is expected to cover 6.4 million Malaysians

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Beijing had assured him that Malaysia would be given priority access to its vaccines

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Malaysia is expected to receive its first Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer in the first quarter of 2021. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:52pm, 27 Nov 2020Updated: 7:52pm, 27 Nov 2020

Malaysia is expected to receive its first Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer in the first quarter of 2021 after signing a deal for 12.8 million doses from the US manufacturer, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday.

The Pfizer deal is expected to cover 6.4 million Malaysians, or 20 per cent of the population, with another 10 per cent to be covered under Malaysia’s participation in the World Health Organization-backed global Covax facility.

Pfizer has agreed to deliver the first one million doses in the first quarter of 2021, with 1.7 million doses, 5.8 million and 4.3 million to follow in subsequent quarters, Muhyiddin said.

The vaccination programme would prioritise “high-risk groups … including frontliners, senior citizens, and those with non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases, diabetes,” he said during a televised news conference.

The Pfizer vaccine still requires approvals from regulator including the US Food and Drug Administration and Malaysia’s Health Ministry before it can be distributed, the premier said.

The prime minister, who scored an important victory in parliament on Thursday with a majority of MPs backing his draft budget, has meanwhile said China had assured him that Malaysia would be given priority access to its vaccines.

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