Malaysia to Obtain 6.4 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine
Malaysia Signs Deal for 6.4 Million Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine
(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia has signed a deal with AstraZeneca Plc. to secure 6.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.
The government is also in final negotiations with China’s Sinovac, CanSino Biologics and Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, part of a plan to get supplies to cover more than 80% of the population, or 26.5 million people, he said in a televised address on Tuesday. The country expects to spend $504.4 million on the shots, he said.
“The 80% figure exceeds our initial target, which was to vaccinate 70% of Malaysians,” Muhyiddin said.
Malaysia is struggling to stem a fresh wave of cases that emerged in September and threatens a nascent economic recovery. Daily infections hit a record 2,234 on Dec. 10, with cases erupting at facilities of companies including Top Glove Corp. and Karex Bhd., the world’s biggest producer of condoms.
The government last month ordered 12.8 million doses of the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE vaccine and has an accord with the World Health Organization’s Covax facility. The first 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be rolled out as early as February, Muhyiddin said, adding that he would be among the first Malaysians to get the shot to convince the people of its safety.
“This means a 40% vaccine-supply guarantee has already been obtained through a joint agreement with Covax, Pfizer and AstraZeneca,” he said.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.