PHARMANIAGA Bhd will begin supplying the Sinovac COVID-19 booster dose at designated private hospitals and clinics soon following the obtainment of conditional approval from the Drug Control Authority (DCA) yesterday.
According to Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the COVID-19 booster dose has been approved for individuals aged 18 years and above who have received the same type of vaccine (homologous) and will be administered three to six months after the second dose.
This is as per outlined by the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force-Booster (CITF-B).
Commenting on the latest development, Pharmaniaga group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said a number of Chinese provinces and cities have started giving COVID-19 vaccine boosters to people who received their first two shots at least six months ago1
“In China, the booster shot roll-out comes after close to 80% of the population has been vaccinated to give the optimum protection against the virus and new variants,” he justified.
“According to a research in China, booster shot given at an interval of six to 12 months after the second dose has led to a strong boost in immune response with geometric mean titers (GMTs) increasing to approximately 140 in adults and even higher in elderly aged above 60 years.”
The GMT of six months after the third dose is higher than the peak of the second dose. In addition, the Chinese studies also showed higher persistence of antibody of up to 20-fold, six months after the booster dose compared to the second dose, indicating a longer duration of protection from COVID-19 protection and new variants.
“Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine is safe as it is developed using inactivated virus which is a well-established technology of more than 40-years that is also being used commonly in many types of vaccines currently available in the mar et including for polio, Hepatitis A and rabies,” Zulkarnain pointed out.
The vaccine will be made available at selected private hospitals and clinics as an option for individuals who wish to have the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for themselves.
“We hope with this effort, we can see our country revive its economy and help Malaysians weather the COVID-19 pandemic, thus ensuring the well-being of the people, business continuity and most importantly saving lives,” he added.
At 11.34am, Pharmaniaga was up 1 sen or 1.27% to 80 sen with 2.84 million shares traded, thus valuing the company at RM1.05 bil. – Nov 18, 2021
