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Sinovac jab given green light for children aged 5 to 11

This will be the second Covid-19 vaccine allowed for use on children in this age group.

Bernama
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A health worker shows a syringe of Covid-19 vaccine to a woman before administering it to her child at the Dewan Komuniti Taman Bukit Mewah vaccination centre in Kajang.
A health worker shows a syringe of Covid-19 vaccine to a woman before administering it to her child at the Dewan Komuniti Taman Bukit Mewah vaccination centre in Kajang.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today announced that the CoronaVac Suspension for Injection Covid-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated produced by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd, China and Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd, will be allowed for use on children aged five to 11.

Noor Hisham said the conditional registration approval was agreed to by the Drug Control Authority in its 370th meeting today.

He said this would be the second Covid-19 vaccine approved for children in this age group, following the green light given for the Comirnaty jab on Jan 6.

“CoronaVac was earlier approved for conditional use for individuals aged 12 and above,” he said in a statement today.

Noor Hisham said the meeting also agreed to give conditional approval for the Paxlovid (PF-07321332 150mg Film-Coated Tablets) and Ritonavir 100mg Film-Coated Tablets) for use in Covid-19 treatment among adults aged 18 and above who do not need oxygen therapy and are at high-risk of experiecing negative symptoms.

However, he said the use of Paxlovid, produced by Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Germany and Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Ireland, was not meant as a substitute for Covid-19 vaccination and public health action, especially on SOP compliance.

“The health ministry wishes to announce that the conditional approval registration still requires quality, safety and efficacy information on the vaccine product, which will be continuously monitored and evaluated by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency based on the latest data from time to time.

“This is to ensure that the comparison of benefit over risk for the vaccine remains positive,” he said.