KUALA LUMPUR: The government will discuss with Saudi Arabia to allow Malaysians who received the Sinovac vaccine to perform their umrah and haj pilgrimage, in addition to the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines approved by the kingdom.
Coordinating Minister for the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme (NIP) Khairy Jamaluddin said some pilgrims had already received the Sinovac vaccine prior to arrangements made for those going under Tabung Haji.
"We will ask for some leeway for the ones who have received Sinovac. While we administer Pfizer vaccines to those who have yet to be vaccinated, a small number of them have taken Sinovac through appointments on their own.
"Some countries only approve certain vaccines. For example, China only accepts Sinovac, countries under EU (European Union) only accept Pfizer, while Saudi Arabia accepts Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
"How do we do it if we are to travel later? Do we have to inject everything (vaccines); is it safe?" said the Science, Technology and Innovation minister at a press conference after a site visit to the vaccination centre at the Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (Mitec) today.
He said he was also awaiting advice from experts on whether Pfizer vaccines could be administered to those who have received their first dose of Sinovac.
On a separate matter, he said discussions would be held soon with the Home Ministry on the inoculation drive for undocumented migrants.
It was reported that there are between two and four million migrants without any legal status in Malaysia.