This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 30, 2021 - September 5, 2021

The Covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE has been granted full approval by US regulators for people aged 16 and older. The formula, initially made available in the US through an emergency authorisation late last year, will be marketed under the brand name Comirnaty.

A study by researchers from RAND Corp and Indiana University that examined the effect of state vaccination campaigns on the number of Covid-19 deaths in the US estimates that early Covid-19 vaccinations may have prevented almost 140,000 deaths in the country.

Immunocompromised patients had weaker immune responses after two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine than the general population, says a study by The Lancet medical journal, supporting the case for booster shots for vulnerable people.

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF) to make Covid-19 vaccines available at all clinics run by private general practitioners (GPs) following the CITF’s announcement that it was excluding private GPs from the vaccination exercise without providing a reason for it.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says booster shots should be delayed to prioritise vaccination rates in countries where only 1% or 2% of the population has been inoculated.

Selangor is making preparations to provide a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine under the Selangor Covid-19 Vaccination Programme (SelVAX). Provision of the vaccine for those aged 18 and below is subject to approval from the Special Committee for Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV).

The Selangor government has agreed to lend Penang 200,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to inoculate the remaining 225,226 unvaccinated Penangites.

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