KANGAR, March 5 — The people need not be concerned about the brands of COVID-19 vaccines used in the immunisation programme in the country as each vaccine has been approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said all the vaccines used in the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) have been tested safe and effective by the agency.
“They (vaccines) have all been tested and approved and I am confident that when the immunisation programme is being properly implemented by the management committee, it will give us a lot of advantages.
“It means that if the number of COVID-19 cases drops because many people receive their (vaccine) shots, the economy can be revived faster that will benefit the people as they could resume working and earning a living while businesses can run as usual,” he told reporters after visiting the COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Centre at the Kampung Gial Health Clinic here today.
As such, he said the people from all walks of life are advised to not hesitate in registering for vaccination on the MySejahtera app even if they had to wait for a long time for their turn.
“This is important for the country because we want, at this early stage, at least 60 per cent of the people to receive the vaccine so that we can achieve herd immunity even though our target is to vaccinate 80 per cent of the country’s population.
“Once vaccinated, we may be allowed to travel…to make an overseas trip, one may be asked to produce his or her vaccination record,” he said.
On the Malaysian Pharmacists Society’s request to have community pharmacists be listed among the vaccine recipients in the first phase of PICK, Muhyiddin said the matter could be referred to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
“Some people want to get the vaccine earlier than others because they are dealing with lots of people or facing bigger threats as the frontliners…but everybody will get the vaccine eventually, just be patient,” he added.
