This handout photo of the Malaysian Information Department, taken and released on November 26, 2020, shows Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (2nd L) waving as he arrives for a session at the Malaysian Parliament in Kuala Lumpur.
Nazri Rapaai | Department of Information Malaysia | AFP via Getty Images
Malaysia has signed a deal to purchase 6.4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, and is in latest talks with Chinese and Russian manufacturers to obtain more, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Tuesday.
The Southeast Asian country has already secured 12.8 million doses through its deal with Pfizer-BioNTech signed last month, as well as through its participation in the global COVAX facility, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“This means that we have vaccines insured for 40% (of the population),” Muhyiddin said in a televised address.
Malaysia expects to purchase enough supplies to inoculate 26.5 million people, or more than 80% of the population.
The government is now in final negotiations with China-based manufacturers Sinovac and CanSino, as well as Russia’s Gamaleya Institute to cover the rest, Muhyiddin said.
The tender deals are expected to cost a total of $ 504.4 million (2.04 billion ringgits), he said.
To increase confidence in the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, Muhyiddin said he would be one of the first to receive a dose, followed by frontliners and high-risk groups such as seniors.
The government expects to receive the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February, he added. Malaysia was the first country in Southeast Asia to sign a deal with the American drug company.
Under the Pfizer deal, it will receive 1 million doses in the first quarter of 2021 and 1.7 million, 5.8 million and 4.3 million doses in the following quarters.
Neighboring Singapore was the first Asian nation to receive the Pfizer vaccine on Monday when the first batch arrived from Belgium.