This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 31, 2022 - February 6, 2022

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said last week that they have started a clinical trial to test a new version of their vaccine specifically designed to target the Covid-19 Omicron variant, which has eluded some of the protection provided by the original two-dose vaccine regimen.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Tuesday forecast US$3 billion to US$3.5 billion in revenue for its Covid-19 vaccine this year, compared with US$2.39 billion it generated in 2021, even as the drug maker faces manufacturing issues and uneven demand for the shot.

New research data recently published by Sinovac Biotech Ltd showed that three doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine produced higher neutralising antibodies in 95% of recipients compared with 3.3% by the second dose against variants of concern (VOCs), including Omicron.

In Malaysia, the vaccination of children aged between five and below 12 through the Covid-19 Immunisation Programme for Children (PICKids) will begin on Feb 3 in the Klang Valley as a start.

A total of 199,251 adults in Malaysia received their Covid-19 vaccine booster dose on Thursday, bringing the cumulative number of booster jabs administered to the adult population of the country to 11,531,403 individuals, or almost 50% of the group.

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