Former health minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said Malaysia should've strived to be one of the first countries in region to roll out its vaccination programme. <br /><br />Dr Dzulkefly said this during an interview aired live on Amanah's Facebook page on Wednesday night.<br /><br />Following this, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said while Malaysia was not among the first to secure Covid-19 vaccines, that does not mean that procurement was slow.<br /><br />In a statement today, Khairy said Japan will be securing vaccines in end-February - same as Malaysia - although Japan signed a deal in July last year, four months earlier than Malaysia. South Korea, which signed a deal in December 2020, will only get its vaccines in the third quarter of 2021.<br /><br />Neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia, said Khairy, had unique circumstances which allowed them to roll out Covid-19 vaccinations before Malaysia.<br /><br />In the case of Singapore, Khairy explained that the island republic was able to "place bets" on vaccine candidates earlier because of greater resources.<br /><br />"I am sure they entered into advanced purchase agreements at premium prices ahead of the publication of interim trial data," he added.<br /><br />As for Indonesia, which is rolling out the Sinovac vaccine from China, Khairy explained that the republic had conducted clinical trials for the vaccine.<br /><br />Source: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1309354529439889&ref=watch_permalink
