Plan for strategies to deploy vaccine
THE Malaysian Health Coalition (MHC) welcomes the decision for Malaysia to join the COVAX facility, a platform led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Gavi and Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) with 172 participating countries. COVAX will give Malaysians the best chance to secure fair and equal access to the Covid-19 vaccine when one becomes available.
As next steps, we urge the following:
1. The government must keep the rakyat included and informed about its plans to procure and distribute vaccines for Malaysians. The COVAX facility will allocate enough doses for only 20% of Malaysia’s population in the first phase. Therefore, the government must publicise the criteria for which category of citizens receive the first doses. The criteria must be transparent, inclusive and non-paternalistic. It must achieve fairness and protect all residents in the country. As the vaccine is a public good, deliberations of the Cabinet Working Group on the Covid-19 Vaccine must be communicated.
2. We must start preparing the mass vaccination programme now. Firstly, our regulatory agencies must prepare for a robust yet accelerated review of the vaccine when it is ready. Secondly, public communications for vaccine confidence must be effective in this era of misinformation, disinformation and anti-vaxxers. Thirdly, the Covid-19 mass vaccination programme must not impact other vaccinations programmes (like polio or HPV), and must be funded in sustainable ways. Fourthly, the logistics of vaccine delivery must be enhanced throughout Malaysia. Fifthly, discussions must begin on the vaccination of non-citizen residents as a matter of public health. No one can be left behind when the Covid-19 vaccine is being administered, as a pandemic somewhere is a pandemic everywhere.
3. The Covid-19 pandemic is now shifting to decisions made outside our national borders, like vaccines and travel bubbles. Malaysia must actively participate in these global discussions. We cannot rely on our domestic public health system only. Diverse representation in regional and global decision-making frameworks are crucial. We must rely on our current and former international civil servants, diplomats and civil society leaders to make the Malaysian case for equitable access to all global public goods.
Now that plans to acquire the Covid-19 vaccine have been announced, we need strategies to deploy them in safe and equitable ways that inspire population confidence. We must increase transparency and prepare our vaccine infrastructure.