First batch of COVID-19 vaccine for Malaysia arrives today

SEPANG: The new history of the country will be written again.

The first batch of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines arrived at 10 this morning at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) via flight MH604 operated by MABkargo Sdn Bhd (MASKargo).

The travel of this vaccine from Pfizer plant in Belgium has been managed by Pfizer and DHL through a global agreement.

The vaccine departed from Puurs, Belgium and transited at Leipzig Halle Airport, before continuing on to Singapore for distribution to other Asia Pacific countries, including Malaysia.

The vaccine, a total of 312,390 doses, was flown on a Passenger-to-Cargo (P2C) flight using an Airbus 330-300 aircraft.

The arrival of the vaccine will definitely enable the planning of the National COVID-19 Immunization Program scheduled to begin on Feb 26 to run according to schedule.

Among thosepresent to witness the vaccine arrival were Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and Malaysian Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Menantikan ketibaan vaksin COVID-19 pertama di Malaysia, Pfizer BioNTech di KLIA.#MyVaksinCOVID19 #HapusCOVID19 #AWANInews #AWANI745 #awaniterkini #Pfizer @501Awani pic.twitter.com/NjD6cbIeZw
— Ridauddin Daud (@RidauddinDaud) February 21, 2021

Arrival of vaccines in Malaysia:

Upon arrival in Malaysia, the vaccine distribution is handled by DHL Express, which is also an appointed agent for the global distribution of Pfizer BioNTech vaccines.

Pfizer vaccine information:

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the first vaccine that has obtained conditional approval from the Drug Control Authority (PBKD) and NPRA on January 8, 2021.

As of February 2021, Malaysia has had access to a supply of 66.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facility and early purchases from 5 COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers.

The Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) on behalf of the government has entered into an agreement with Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd on 11 January for the purchase of this vaccine, after starting discussions at the end of 2020.