It will take over 4 months from today to clear the 1,365,200 AstraZeneca Covid vaccine doses received on Feb 16, which expire on May 31, assuming there’s no existing stock that must be used first.
Individuals double vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine are required to wait until Jan 8, 2022, before registering on PPVs’ waiting lists for their boosters.
Malaysia is maintaining the six-month booster interval for now, except three months for Sinovac recipients, while a new booster interval will be announced for the immunocompromised next week.
Khairy Jamaluddin says the Vaccination Technical Working Group will recommend eligibility groups and inclusion of the Sinovac and AstraZeneca shots for heterologous vaccination.
Health DG Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah cites Thai, Chile, and Turkey data that show higher efficacy from heterologous booster vaccination than three Sinovac doses, adding that Sinovac boosters have yet to be approved by NPRA.
A third dose with Pfizer or AstraZeneca for those who received two Sinovac shots showed efficacy above 90 per cent in preventing Covid-19 infection, symptomatic disease, and hospital and ICU admission.