KUCHING, March 3: The Ministry of Health (MOH) has approved the use of the Sinovac vaccine for children aged five to 11.
Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Drug Control Authority (DCA) has granted conditional approval for the use of the CoronaVac Suspension for Injection Covid-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated produced by Sinovac Life Sciences Co Ltd, China and Pharmaniaga Lifescience Sdn Bhd, Malaysia in its 370th meeting today.
“Prior to this, the CoronaVac has been approved for conditional use for individuals aged 12 and above.
“This will be the second Covid-19 vaccine approved for children as the Comirnaty vaccine (Pfizer-BionTech) was approved for this group on January 6,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, the DCA also agreed to give conditional approval for the Paxlovid (PF-07321332 150 mg Film-Coated Tablets and Ritonavir 100mg Film-Coated Tablets) to treat Covid-19 in adults aged 18 and above who do not need oxygen therapy and has high-risk to severe symptoms.
The Paxlovid products are produced by Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Germany and Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Ireland.
“The Paxlovid products however are not aimed at being used as a substitute for Covid-19 vaccinations and public health measures, especially on compliance of standard operating procedure (SOP).
Dr Noor Hisham added that the conditional approval registration still requires quality, safety and efficacy information of both vaccine and anti-virus products which will be continuously monitored and evaluated by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) based on the latest data from time to time.
“This is to ensure the comparison of benefit over risk for the vaccine and anti-virus products to remain positive.
“MOH will continue to be committed to improving people’s access to vaccines and drugs for the purpose of treatment and prevention of Covid-19 in the country by ensuring it is evaluated based on quality, safety and efficacy,” he said. — DayakDaily
