COVID-19 : Clinical trial for vaccine from China only for willing participants

State Health Department director Dr Chin Zin Hing said those who have been selected would be contacted personally to be present at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).

"After the clinical study specifications have been explained and the individuals have given their consent to participate, only then will they be officially included in the clinical trial list.

"SGH is one of the nine research centres under the supervision of the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MoH) which has been selected to conduct this international clinical trial," he said in a statement here today.

Earlier, it was reported that the State Health Department was looking for 400 volunteers in the state to conduct a clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Institute of Medical Biology Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMBCAMS) in China.

Dr Chin said clinical trials are essential for the development of new medical treatments, including the COVID-19 vaccine developed by IMBCAMS.

"Malaysia is one of the countries selected by IMBCAMS to cooperate in the field of medical science during this pandemic and this clinical trial involves 3,000 subjects," he said.

In this clinical trial, 50 per cent of the subjects will have the opportunity to be vaccinated while another 50 per cent are likely to be injected with a placebo.

"The study protocol has been approved by the Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC), MoH and will be conducted according to world-class standards," he added.