Govt urged to be transparent on distribution of Covid-19 vaccines

The government must provide transparency on the full distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, said the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).

Ideas CEO Tricia Yeoh said full transparency is warranted, on top of the proposal by Khairy Jamaluddin to brief two government committees on the vaccine procurement details.

The Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister had proposed to provide a briefing to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) of Health, Science, and Innovation.

Yeoh acknowledged that governments across the world face difficulty due to non-disclosure agreements being imposed by pharmaceutical companies, but highlighted other aspects where it can be more forthcoming.

"Moving forward, I urge the government to not just ensure transparency in all stages of purchasing, but also provide transparency on the full distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.

"This includes regulatory checks and approvals, the intended distribution strategy, prioritisation of population groups, in what sequence, if any, as well as who will receive which vaccine," she said in a statement.

Commending the government's efforts to include technology transfer to local companies as part of its negotiations with vaccine manufacturers, Yeoh stressed that there must be transparency on the appointment of local companies.

"It is crucial that there is transparency in the appointment of local companies that will be engaged to provide a support system to the vaccination process nationwide," she said.

After being pushed by DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang for the government to disclose the amount paid to vaccine provider Pfizer, Khairy today tweeted that he was ready to brief the PAC if they can agree to a nondisclosure agreement.

Lim earlier claimed that Belgium was paying 20 times less for Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine compared to Malaysia but Khairy dismissed the allegation.

Yeoh said she hoped the PAC and PSC would respond positively to Khairy's offers and serve their parliamentary responsibilities.

Malaysia is now on track to immunise 82.2 percent of its population, with US$504.4 million (RM2.05 billion) committed for vaccine purchases so far.

Pfizer is supplying 12.8 million doses to Malaysia with delivery to begin in February next year. With its two-dose regimen, this would cover 3.2 million people or 10 percent of the population.

AstraZeneca is set to supply 6.4 million doses of its vaccine to Malaysia.

The agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (Covax) have already been signed.

Malaysia is also in final negotiations with Sinovac, CanSino Biologics, and the Gamaleya Centre to purchase their vaccines.

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