Report: Health Ministry awaiting AGC’s approval for Covid-19 bivalent vaccine procurement

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa today said that the Ministry of Health (MoH) is waiting for the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to approve the country’s procurement of the Covid-19 bivalent vaccine.

Malaysiakini today reported that MoH is currently in the process of acquiring the Covid-19 bivalent vaccine.

“We have actually discussed with Pfizer as they are the ones marketing the bivalent.

“The agreement is still in process, we are waiting for the AGC,” she was quoted as saying by the news portal at the launch of CRM Trial Connect 2023 in Kuala Lumpur today.

According to Malaysiakini, obtaining approval from the AGC is a routine step in the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.

As early as January of this year, former health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said he expected the bivalent vaccine to arrive in Malaysia later that same month.

On January 2, Dr Zaliha said that the Covid-19 bivalent vaccine would be delivered to the country “soon”, following the approval of conditional registration by the Drug Control Authority in December 2022.

In February, she said discussions were ongoing between the government and Pfizer-BioNTech regarding the procurement of the bivalent vaccine, and it was expected to take a few weeks to complete the required formalities.

However, the following month, Dr Zaliha said that the talks were still ongoing.