KUALA LUMPUR: With pre-orders already made by developed countries for at least 5.7 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines, Malaysia is focusing on securing supplies that are safe and effective first before addressing whether to make them available for free.
National Institutes of Biotechnology chairman Datuk Ahmad Zaki Zahid said the government was focused on securing the supplies first to ensure vulnerable groups, which make up 20 per cent of the population, get the coverage needed in a timely manner.
"Firstly, we need to make sure that we get a vaccine supply that is safe and effective as the 5.7 billion doses do not include us or less developed countries.
"It is important that we don't play second fiddle while all the vaccines go to the rich. That's unacceptable," Zaki told the New Sunday Times.
He, however, said it was possible to provide the vaccine free of charge once the procurement had been locked as advocated by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
"If we have to pay, the price will be lower due to the volume of vaccines.
"A lot of (vaccine developer) companies are not looking to make pure profits. So I think prices are going to be reasonable and will get lower as more vaccines enter the market."
Zaki said the emphasis on getting a safe and effective vaccine was also why Malaysia was taking the negotiations with vaccine developers seriously.
Malaysia is negotiating with the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) plan, besides China, for government-to-government access to vaccines while signing non-disclosure agreements with pharmaceutical companies to review the data of their candidates.
The country reportedly missed the deadline to sign the agreement, but on Sept 19, Khairy said it was still negotiating the terms.
A major concern is the cost, especially up-front payments.
As for the committed purchase, there would be a ceiling price of US$20 per vaccine or dose.
Covax is part of the global initiative to subsidise vaccination for poor nations, although Malaysia would pay its own.
He confirmed World Health Organisation's representative to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Dr Ying-Ru Jacqueline Lo's statement that Malaysia was expected to have the Covid-19 vaccine by mid-next year.
Zaki said this was based data from the 11 vaccine candidates that were in their third phase of clinical trials, with four from China and six from Western nations, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Russia.
"I'm optimistic about a vaccine by looking at the data and the experiences of the 170-odd vaccine candidates.
"This is the fastest we have ever developed. We sequenced the virus within three weeks and we got to clinical trials within three months.
"We are moving at a tremendous speed. Even WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said we would get a vaccine by the end of the year. Of course, each regulatory body has to review and approve it first."
Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur respiratory physician Dr Helmy Haja Mydin said the discovery of a safe and effective vaccine does not mean an end to the country's new normal measures.
Even if manufacturers managed to produce two billion doses annually, he said it would take at least three years to vaccinate 70 per cent of the global population to achieve herd immunity.
"People think that everything is going back to normal after the vaccine (is available) and that it would be the silver bullet to address the bad economy, but that's not the case.
"The vaccine is a tool or armour, but the health and safety measures will be here for sometime.
"This is because we are becoming more aware of keeping safe against infectious diseases and have embraced the digital way of doing things."