No rush to buy Covid-19 vaccine, says health minister

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba says Malaysia is in no hurry to get the Covid-19 vaccine as it is more important to ensure that it is effective and safe for use.

For the moment, he said, the government was still waiting for vaccine-producing countries to conduct clinical trials involving three phases, the last phase being human tests.

“We are waiting for the countries to do the clinical trials.

“China has begun the trials in the United Arab Emirates and Brazil. Russia has not started the third phase of the clinical trials,” he said when asked about reports that some countries had begun negotiations for the purchase of the vaccine.

Speaking to reporters after launching the 2020 World Food Safety Day celebration in Putrajaya today, Adham said the health ministry was always in touch with vaccine-producing countries.

On the Covid-19 screening at public markets, he said the ministry had conducted screening at 464 markets nationwide with 36,919 samples taken.

“From the total, 287 (0.87%) tested positive for Covid-19,” he said, adding that inspections at public markets would be continuously carried out.