Malaysia has yet to receive 5.08 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the COVAX facility, as of August 2022, despite having paid RM94 million upfront for nearly 6.5 million doses agreed under Gavi, according to the Auditor-General’s report.
Malaysia has wasted more than 1.1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses, while excess PPE stock is causing storage issues in a number of major government hospitals (only 3% of protective suits in stock were used), revealed the Auditor-General’s report.
Spending for Covid-19 vaccination included vaccine costs, vaccination campaign costs, distribution costs, service charges by doctors, nurses and other health professionals administering the vaccines, and organisational costs, according to the MNHA report.
Dr Zaliha Mustafa says MOH has set up a task force to draft a White Paper on Covid-19 vaccine procurement, adding that MOH will ensure that its procurement in future, including of Covid vaccines, will be undertaken with greater care and integrity.
An editorial from The Lancet says the more worrying Omicron subvariant and one to watch closely is XBB1.5 that has spread rapidly in the US, and had a doubling time of 1 week.
Machang MP Wan Fayhsal, Ipoh Timor MP Howard Lee, and Seri Delima assemblywoman Syerleena are awaiting federal directives before launching Covid booster vaccination drives. Seberang Jaya assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin wants Penang state govt's cooperation.
Malaysians in KL aren’t keen on getting a fourth shot because of vaccine side effects and the currently low Covid-19 infection rate. They also want pre-departure tests for China arrivals.
The Covid pandemic, along with the propaganda that we have been bombarded from both ends of the spectrum, has raised doubts about the integrity of the sources of data we are provided.
NPRA extended the shelf life for Pfizer’s adult Covid-19 vaccine thrice from 6 to 15 months, and twice for paediatric doses from 9 to 18 months. In the Sept 2022 extension for the adult vaccine, new expiry dates are Jan 31 for 13 lots, Feb 28 for two lots.