Pfizer vaccine registration to be opened soon
As COVID-19 vaccinations start rolling out worldwide, people are waiting with bated breath to receive it and for the jabs to take effect, so that the pandemic will not be as threatening as it is now.
Here in Malaysia, we have been receiving regular updates about our country getting hold of the vaccines since last year. Finally, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba has announced that registration for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be opened to Malaysians soon.
Malaysia will receive Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine stocks in late February
The Ministry of Health uploaded a post on its official Facebook page just a couple of hours ago, citing that Dr Adham went on a live program called Bicara DR on RTM last night to share the latest vaccine developments.
Image credit: KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA
Dr Adham confirmed that the government plans to vaccinate 70% of the Malaysian population, which is equivalent to 23 million people, to achieve herd immunity in the country.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will arrive here by late February and had been given conditional approval by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency.
The vaccination process will be divided into three phases in accordance with recipients’ level of priority. The first phase will comprise of frontliners, followed by high-risk individuals with chronic illnesses and senior citizens above 60, then the general Malaysian population of adults above 18.
Survey reveals that 67% of Malaysian respondents want to be vaccinated
Image credit: KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA
A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in December last year revealed that 67% of the 212,000 respondents want to take the vaccine, with 90% from this group being confident that the vaccine is effective.
17% weren’t sure if they wanted to take it, while 16% disagreed to be vaccinated. Those who checked “not sure” were mostly worried about future side effects and the overall efficacy of the vaccine.
Dr Adham also added that the purposes of the vaccination is to protect the frontliners, decrease the COVID-19 fatality rate, form herd immunity, and break the chain of infection.
Vaccination does not mean the end of COVID-19
A lot of people have the impression that once they receive the vaccine, the spread of COVID-19 will end, and life will immediately go back to the way it was before.
However, Dr Adham has reiterated that even after we are vaccinated, we still have to practice national health SOPs such as mask-wearing and social distancing, as the vaccine protects us from getting sick, but may not fully prevent us from transmitting the virus to others.
Still, with over 32 million people already vaccinated worldwide, here’s hoping that things will improve significantly soon – even if masks and sanitizers are still a regular occurrence.
Stay alert with more COVID-19 updates here:
- MCO to last 4 weeks at most
- State of emergency declared by Agong in Malaysia
- Netizen deplores MAEPS quarantine centre
- Mutated, more-transmissible COVID-19 strain found in Malaysia
Cover image adapted from: KEMENTERIAN KESIHATAN MALAYSIA
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