KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 9.6 million people or 30 percent of the Malaysian population is expected to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next year, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Saturday (Nov. 28).
He noted that the government has signed two agreements to purchase COVID-19 vaccines.
In addition to the agreement with Pfizer announced Friday, the Prime Minister said Malaysia has signed an agreement with the COVAX facility to get enough vaccines for 10 percent of the country’s population.
Malaysia will receive the vaccine supply in stages from the first quarter of 2021, he said during his speech at the annual general meeting of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) held almost this year in light of COVID-19.
READ ALSO: Malaysia Agrees to Purchase 12.8 Million Doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine
Muhyiddin, the president of Bersatu, said he is confident that with access to these vaccines and ongoing efforts to break the chain of infection, Malaysia can get the disease outbreak under control.
He also stressed the importance of working with countries in the region to combat COVID-19 and revitalize the economy, and to ensure fair access to the vaccine.
In his speech, the Prime Minister added that he hopes that the 2021 budget, adopted in the policy phase on Thursday, will be passed by Dewan Rakyat (lower house) and then Dewan Negara to ensure that the goal of providing relief to the affected groups can be achieved.
He added that Malaysia will hold general elections once the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
“God willing, when COVID-19 is over, we will have a general election,” he added. “We will return the mandate to the people and leave it to them to choose which government they want.”
READ ALSO: Malaysia to hold elections after COVID-19 is over: Prime Minister Muhyiddin
READ: Malaysia on the list of COVID-19 vaccine recipients in China: PM Muhyiddin
Malaysia announced Friday that it has agreed to purchase 12.8 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, making it the first country in Southeast Asia to announce a deal with the US drug company after some expressed concerns about the drug. need for ultra-cold storage.
Muhyiddin said Malaysia would prioritize high-risk groups, including frontliners, seniors, and those with non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
Malaysia, which will provide the vaccine to its people for free, is facing another wave of COVID-19 infections, with the number of cases more than quadrupling since September to more than 63,000 as of Saturday.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Source link