Malaysian authorities have signed an agreement to purchase 6.4 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca and are also waiting for the Russian drug Sputnik V, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address on Tuesday.
"A special committee set up by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation will ensure immediate delivery" of this manufacturer's vaccines, the prime minister said. "We are in the final stage of [reaching] agreements to acquire the developments of Chinese companies Sinovac Biotech and CanSino, as well as the Gamaleya Research Center (Sputnik V vaccine - TASS note)," Muhyiddin added.
"The government guarantees the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines," he stressed. The Prime Minister also said that he intends to be one of the first to be vaccinated.
On December 13, the Prime Minister announced the allocation of 3 billion ringgit ($700 million) at the end of November to buy the vaccine. He said an agreement was reached last month with Pfizer to deliver 12.8 million doses of the drug in 2021.
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Photo: Mikhail Japaridze / TASS
Based on materials from TASS