Former health minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said Malaysia should've strived to be one of the first countries in region to roll out its vaccination programme.

Dr Dzulkefly said this during an interview aired live on Amanah's Facebook page on Wednesday night.

Following this, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said while Malaysia was not among the first to secure Covid-19 vaccines, that does not mean that procurement was slow.

In a statement today, Khairy said Japan will be securing vaccines in end-February - same as Malaysia - although Japan signed a deal in July last year, four months earlier than Malaysia. South Korea, which signed a deal in December 2020, will only get its vaccines in the third quarter of 2021.

Neighbouring Singapore and Indonesia, said Khairy, had unique circumstances which allowed them to roll out Covid-19 vaccinations before Malaysia.

In the case of Singapore, Khairy explained that the island republic was able to "place bets" on vaccine candidates earlier because of greater resources.

"I am sure they entered into advanced purchase agreements at premium prices ahead of the publication of interim trial data," he added.

As for Indonesia, which is rolling out the Sinovac vaccine from China, Khairy explained that the republic had conducted clinical trials for the vaccine.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1309354529439889&ref=watch_permalink