Covid-19: State govts can buy vaccines as long as they are approved by NPRA, says Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): State governments were allowed to procure Covid-19 vaccines as long as these were approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA), said coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, Khairy Jamaluddin (pictured)  in a statement today.

Khairy however pointed out that under current conditions, state governments “were not likely to obtain vaccines ahead of the federal government” owing to agreements already in place with vaccine manufacturers.

“Under the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) initiative we are committed to provide the vaccine to all citizens nationwide. Besides this commitment, all other states are also allowed to procure their own vaccines as long as it is NRPA approved.

“However, the CITF would like to state that the vaccine the Selangor state government is trying to procure is the same as the federal government.

“Based on the agreements between the Malaysian government and the vaccine manufacturers, the supply of vaccines must prioritise the previous orders from the federal government for the implementation of the NIP,” Khairy, who is also Minister Of Science, Technology and Innovation, said.

Selangor, Penang, and Sarawak have already announced their willingness to buy vaccines for their own residents independently of the federal government.

The latest initiative came from Selangor authorities announcing that employers can buy Covid-19 vaccines for their staff via the state government.

Exco member in charge of public health Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said that “interested employers” can register to buy such vaccines through the SELangkah application.

“SELangkah has opened registration to companies that are interested to get the vaccines for their workers,” said Dr Siti Mariah.

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