Dr Adham recommends Cansino and Sinovac for states with low vaccination rates

Dr Adham Baba, Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation stated CanSino and Sinovac vaccines would be used to boost vaccination in six states that have yet to reach 50% adult vaccination.

He stated the government will procure three million doses of CanSino vaccine, which only needed one dosage, and six million doses of Sinovac vaccine to establish herd immunity.

According to him, the CanSino vaccine is a breakthrough in the Prime Minister’s opinion since we do not have to wait in case there’s delay by the provider which production and supply agreement has been made with.

“CanSino may be utilized in hard-to-reach and rural locations for two-dose vaccination,” he said after his first working visit to Solution Biologics Sdn Bhd (SolBio)’s fill and finish factory for Convidicea CanSino vaccine located in Bukit Jalil.

Dr Adham said that Malaysia has bought 3.5 million doses of CanSino vaccine, three million of which are for ‘fill and finish’ purposes, while the remaining 500,000 doses would be purchased in bulk from CanSino China.

He said that 200,000 doses of this vaccine had been received and delivered to states with low vaccination rates to immediately achieve herd immunity by the end of next month, and that another 300,000 CanSino vaccine doses would arrive in September.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday ordered the Health Ministry and MOSTI till the end of September to guarantee that 50% of the adult population in the six states gets vaccinated against Covid-19.

Perak (46.9 percent), Terengganu (46.8 percent), Johor (46.1 percent), Kedah (44.2 percent), Kelantan (43.9 percent), and Sabah (43.9 percent) were the six states with immunization rates below 50%. (38 per cent).

SolBio signed a bulk product to ready product agreement with China’s CanSino Biologics Inc to provide recombinant Ad5-nCoV or Convidecia vaccine.

Regarding the country’s intention to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines, Dr Adham stated the ministry will shortly release the national vaccine plan.

This is the final draft of the national vaccine development roadmap.

“MOSTI will soon prioritize vaccine R&D so that the nation can manufacture its own vaccine… for the country’s health and economy,” he added. MOSTI Deputy Minister Datuk Haji Amzad Mohamed and Secretary-General Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir were also present at the working visit.