Covid increased vaccine hesitancy. With immunisation crucial to protect against the impacts of climate change, the test is how to restore vaccine confidence.
CodeBlue EIC Boo Su-Lyn explains how she travelled to Singapore to get Moderna's new monovalent XBB.1.5 vaccine for SG$158, since her last Covid-19 jab was over a year ago. Just book an online appointment under Singapore's Private Vaccination Programme.
Pfizer's manufacturing site in Puurs, Belgium, has the capacity to fill a whopping 600 vials a minute. The plant operates 24/7 to produce more than 400 million doses of injectable vaccines & medicines annually for patients in over 170 countries.
WHO recommends monovalent XBB.1.5 Covid-19 vaccines across different platforms against circulating variants. Malaysia's MOH has yet to issue an updated Covid-19 vaccine advisory for 2024 or to announce if the monovalent XBB.1.5 vaccine will be procured.
Anti-vaxxer groups are weaponising the PAC's report on expired Covid-19 vaccines to cast doubt on mRNA vaccines. The PAC did not conclude if it found the vaccine wastage to be acceptable, amid similar or higher levels of expired doses in other countries.
NCSM explains how it went door to door and ran community programmes to administer Covid-19 vaccination to vulnerable communities, including cancer patients, bed-bound individuals, people with intellectual disabilities, migrant workers, and care facility residents.
Lukanisman Awang Sauni says the previous government's decision to procure Covid-19 vaccines was "the best and the right decision" as it was a "matter of life and death", even though the contracts favoured vaccine manufacturers, like with other countries.
MMA says it's unfair to blame the government for Covid-19 vaccine wastage, as demand dropped after the first booster rollout. MMA pointed out there was high global demand at the time of procurement and it was right to assume everyone would get vaccinated.
Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin slams the lack of crucial information in the Covid-19 Vaccine Procurement White Paper, such as the total cost of vaccine procurement, high vaccine prices charged by Pharmaniaga to state governments, and the cost of PIKAS and PPVs.
In an historic Parliament debate on the AG's Report, government MPs widely slammed leakages in MOH's emergency procurement during the pandemic, including the 2020 procurement of defective ventilators, vaccine and PPE wastage, and MySejahtera data breaches.