Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he had been informed by health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah that the NPRA had given conditional registration for the vaccine.

“We are still waiting for additional information from Pfizer but this means it can be used in Malaysia. Congratulations NPRA on the quick registration,” he said in a Twitter post.

The vaccine was co-developed by US-based Pfizer Inc and the German biotechnology firm BioNTech. Two doses per person are required for vaccination. The companies say the vaccine is more than 90% effective.

Malaysian authorities signed an agreement with Pfizer in November last year to obtain its Covid-19 vaccine to inoculate 20% of the population, about 6.4 million people.

Khairy previously announced that the Pfizer vaccine, which must be kept in ultra-low temperatures, will be placed across 55 urban areas, and vaccines that can be stored under normal refrigerator temperatures will be deployed in more rural areas.

Covid-19 vaccine doses to be given 21 days apart

Khairy said the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine would be given 21 days after the first one was administered. “We will give it 21 days apart, not any later than that. Unless there is new clinical data,” he said, Bernama reported.

The vaccine co-developers, BioNTech, had stated that there is no data backing the “safety and efficacy” of delaying the second shot beyond three weeks as done by some countries to give more people their first dose.

Khairy said the government is still holding discussions on procuring a Russian-made vaccine and for the proposed transfer of technology in vaccine production. “We are looking at Russia’s proposal because it adds value to our pharmaceutical capabilities,” he said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST DATA ON THE COVID-19 SITUATION IN MALAYSIA