Govt inks deal with AstraZeneca for 6.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine

The government has signed an agreement with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the procurement of an additional 10% or 6.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced.

He said this meant that the government had secured a 40% guarantee of vaccine supply through joint agreements with Covax, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

The government previously signed preliminary agreements with Covax and Pfizer for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccine, to secure a vaccine supply for 30% of the population.

“The government is also in final negotiations with Sinovac, CanSino and Gamaleya to secure a vaccine supply increase of more than 80% or 26.5 million of the country’s total population,” he said today.

The 80% supply exceeds the government’s initial target to provide vaccines for 70% of Malaysians.

The prime minister said these negotiations and agreements would see the government spending a total of US$504.4 million (RM2.05 billion).

He said the agreements with Sinovac, CanSino and Gamaleya would also provide added value to the local science and technology sectors which would benefit the people and the country’s development.

“This includes carrying out vaccine bottling processes in the country, research and development, as well as knowledge sharing and technology transfer,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government will continue to hold talks with other pharmaceutical companies to ensure the country has adequate access to a free vaccine supply, he added.

He said the government would ensure that the vaccines obtained are safe and effective.