KJ to seek clarification over Sinovac recipients unrecognised in EU
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he will seek clarification from European Union ambassador Michalis Rokas over the recognition of Sinovac vaccine recipients in the European Union.
This came after reports that two Malaysians were denied entry into Germany on Tuesday despite having received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine and one Pfizer-BioNTech booster.
“The rakyat may...
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he will seek clarification from European Union ambassador Michalis Rokas over the recognition of Sinovac vaccine recipients in the European Union.
This came after reports that two Malaysians were denied entry into Germany on Tuesday despite having received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine and one Pfizer-BioNTech booster.
“The rakyat may request for an additional (vaccine) dose for the purpose of travel. They may put in a request, and we will consider it.
“But for Sinovac recipients, it has not been an issue in Australia, United Kingdom or America.
“However, I will contact the European Union ambassador for an explanation on the matter,” he said at a broadcast press conference today.
Utusan Malaysia reported yesterday that Sinovac recipients in the country are at high risk of being barred from entering any countries in the European Union, due to non-recognition by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
It was reported that the two Malaysians, who are brothers, were on a family trip to observe Ramadan and they claimed to have adhered to all screening protocols set by travel and airline agencies. However, they were barred by German authorities, allegedly due to their Sinovac vaccination.
Currently, the EMA only recognises Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax.
Sinovac has been under review by the EMA since May 4 last year.
Nevertheless, the EU Delegation to Malaysia had previously assured that it would allow travellers vaccinated with vaccines under WHO Emergency Use Listing to enter, even if it has yet to be authorised in the EU. This would have included the Sinovac vaccine.
As of March 23, 10 million people in Malaysia have been fully vaccinated using the Sinovac vaccine. They make up 38.8 percent of fully vaccinated people in the country.
However, Khairy revealed during the same press conference that 2.09 million Sinovac recipients have yet to receive their booster dose, meaning they could lose their 'fully vaccinated' status from April 1 if they still haven't received a booster shot by then.
Khairy also announced that vaccination certificates in MySejahtera will be recognised by the European Union bloc in the near future.
“I was informed yesterday by the Science and Technology Ministry that MySejahtera will be an approved application that will be recognised in the system used by the European Union.
“(Further announcements) will be made in the near future,” he added.
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