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Govt denies paying more for Covid-19 vaccine than Belgium

KUALA LUMPUR: The government today denied that the cost of Covid-19 vaccines for Malaysia is higher than what was paid for by Belgium.

Deputy Finance Minister II, Mohd Shahar Abdullah, said the Belgian government had ordered 33.5 million doses of vaccines to be given to 16.7 million people in the country at a price of RM1.38 billion.

"Belgium will provide two doses of vaccines to each of its citizens at an estimated cost of RM82.40 (per person)," he said while winding up the Temporary Measures for Government Financing (Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19)) (Amendment) Bill 2020 in Dewan Negara, today.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian government, he said, paid RM2.05 billion for the procurement of 26.5 million Covid-19 vaccines to be given to 26.5 million people in the country.

"The cost of vaccines for a Malaysian is RM77.35. This shows that our price is lower than in Belgium. I hope this explanation can avoid confusion, "he said.

Claims have gone viral online that Malaysia paid 20 times the price that Belgium did to acquire the Covid-19 vaccine.

On allegations that "middlemen" were involved in the vaccine procurement process, Mohd Shahar said that the supply of vaccines was obtained directly from pharmaceutical companies.

In addition, the three other procurement methods are participation in the Covax facility and 'Covax optional purchase agreement'; Government-to-Government (G2G); and open tender.

"I am confident that the Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee, chaired by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance, will ensure that all these matters are prioritised so that the vaccine preparation plan is at an optimal level," he said. - BERNAMA

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