PETALING JAYA: The CoronaVac vaccines that have just arrived in the country demonstrate the friendship and cooperation between China and Malaysia, says China’s ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing.
He also said that the two countries are also working together in procurement deals and clinical trials for various other Chinese vaccines.
“The arrival of the first batch of the vaccine in bulk shows the tangible achievements of China-Malaysia vaccine cooperation, and represents the deep friendship between the Chinese and Malaysian people.
“The first batch of Sinovac (CoronaVac) vaccine in bulk will be packaged into over 300,000 doses of vaccine by Pharmaniaga.
“The additional 100,000 doses of the vaccine are already good for emergency use and will arrive as soon as the registration is approved, ” he said during a press conference at KL International Airport after the CoronaVac vaccines arrived on Saturday (Feb 27).
Ouyang added that Malaysia and China have engaged in a number of vaccine agreements, besides the CoronaVac vaccine which is manufactured by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd.
“China’s CanSinoBIO and Malaysia’s Health Ministry are in the midst of negotiating a supply agreement to provide 3.5 million doses of vaccine to Malaysia.
“China’s Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co Ltd and Malaysia’s Yong Tai Bhd have entered an agreement to conduct Phase III clinical trials and upon success, no less than 10 million doses of vaccine will be provided to Malaysia per year within five years.
“China’s Institute of Medical Biology Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMBCAMS) is currently conducting phase III clinical trials in Malaysia, which are in smooth progress, ” he said.
He also said that he does not rule out the possibility that more vaccine agreements and cooperation between both nations will take place in the future.
“China will continue to work with Malaysia and other countries to strengthen our cooperation on vaccines, pandemic prevention and control, economic recovery and other fields.
“Despite the huge domestic demand for vaccines, we still deliver (based) on President Xi Jinping’s solemn commitment of making Chinese vaccines a global public good, to do our utmost to provide assistance to the international community.
“Our goal is to make vaccines accessible and affordable to as many people as possible in all countries, ” he said.
He also noted that China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Malaysia last October, during which the two countries were able to reach an important consensus on vaccine cooperation.
Science, Technology and Innovation minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that although the CoronaVac deal was between Sinovac and Pharmaniaga, it also demonstrated intergovernmental cooperation.
“While the delivery this morning has been made possible through a commercial agreement between Pharmaniaga and Sinovac, it is also part of an agreement between China and Malaysia that was signed by myself and my Chinese counterpart Wang Zhigang.
“The receipt of this vaccine is a good development in our efforts to boost the supply of vaccines in Malaysia, especially as we target to vaccinate 80% of the population, ” he said.
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