MMA lauds govt move to join Covax initiative

Keep public updated on the global programme, says Ganabaskaran

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has welcomed the government’s decision to join the Covax Vaccine Plan.

MMA president Dr N Ganabaskaran said this move can be seen as an insurance policy to ensure access to vaccine supply.

He said this is on top of the government’s efforts to secure vaccine supply through bilateral negotiations with candidate vaccine manufacturers.

He said MMA hopes that the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) will work closely with the Health Ministry on vaccination plans for Covid-19.

“Besides consulting experts and professional groups, the government must also engage stakeholders and gather public feedback.

“MMA thanks Mosti for shedding light on the direction to be taken by the government to secure Covid-19 vaccines for the country” he said.

Ganabaskaran said the government should provide regular updates to the public as it will be well appreciated by all Malaysians as the issue of vaccines for Covid-19 is of national interest.

He pointed out that the medical fraternity and the public had expressed concern over Malaysia’s preparedness to obtain supply of Covid-19 vaccines as the deadline for joining the Covax Vaccine Plan was coming to a close.

“The public will be more encouraged with Mosti and the Health Ministry working closely together on the vaccination plan. The government must ensure full transparency in carrying this out and the public must be kept informed on the progress,” he said.

Ganabaskaran said MMA supports Mosti’s suggestion for the vaccine to be made available at no cost to the public and looks forward to ways this can be made possible.

He said Mosti and MOH will need to address the big question of who or which groups will be prioritised for vaccination.

“The universal approach would be to prioritise vulnerable groups. Who will fall under the category of ‘vulnerable’ or high risk will need to be determined and listed in proper order.

“This needs to be well planned ahead of vaccine distribution,” he said.

Ganabaskaran said under the Covax Vaccine Plan, “subject to funding availability, funded countries will receive enough doses to vaccinate up to 20% of their population in the longer term”.

He said since demand is initially likely to exceed supply once vaccines do become available, allocation will be spread across countries based on the number of doses that are available and increase as availability increased.

He said we will need to determine which vulnerable or high-risk groups will be given priority for vaccination among this 20% mentioned.

“This can be a challenge and important decisions will need to be made in the near future.

“Finally, apart from consulting the experts and professional groups, we believe obtaining public feedback will also be an important step to take through stakeholder engagement,” he said.