THE Drug Control Authority (DCA) has given conditional approval for two new, single-shot Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use, said Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Another major decision made is to allow children aged 12 and above to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, he said in a statement today.

The two vaccines with conditional approval are the Convidecia Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector), developed by China based CanSino Biologics Inc, and the Janssen Covid-19 Vaccine by Johnson & Johnson.

Both vaccines are single dose jabs.

Noor Hisham said Malaysia’s conditional approval for the Janssen vaccine was made in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) decision to give the vaccine an Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

“The Malaysian government has registered the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine which will be obtained via the Covax facility, based on the WHO’s EUL recognition,” he said.

The DCA decided on the two vaccines and the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Comirnaty, on children aged 12 and above, at a meeting today.

Comirnaty was previously given conditional approval on January 8, for immunisation of adults aged 18 and above.

Noor Hisham said conditional approval was given after taking into account the information on the quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine. The data will be monitored and evaluated from time to time to ensure the benefits of the products outweigh the risks.

The Health Ministry will prioritise vaccination for high-risk groups in the National Covid-19 Immunisation Program, he added.

The ministry will continue to raise public health standards with the procurement of vaccines which have been given greenlighted by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency and the DCA.

He said the government is also committed towards developing herd immunity. – June 15, 2021.