PUTRAJAYA (April 22): Malaysia plans to help other countries undertake clinical trials for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, in hopes it will be prioritised once a viable vaccine is found.

Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham said the Government is currently in talks with a few countries that have been identified to have the capacity to produce a vaccine against the coronavirus.

"We are ready to receive the [prototype] vaccine for further studies so that we can monitor whether it is effective or not," he told reporters today at his daily press briefing on the coronavirus situation in the country.

"But once the vaccine is identified, we need to conduct our own research because some vaccines may have side effects.

"And once it is identified, we want to make sure that Malaysia is given the priority to get the vaccine for [the people in] our country," Dr Noor Hisham said.

Malaysia may not have the capability to develop the vaccine, but it may be able to help manufacture the vaccine once the formula is developed, he added.

"So this is the collaboration that we have with other countries for the joint research for a vaccine. Even though we do not have the capability to come up with the vaccine, we can contribute in terms of the manufacturing process," he said.

This is similar to Malaysia's involvement in the "Solidarity" trial, an international effort to test several drugs to treat COVID-19.

Last month, he announced that Malaysia was chosen by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the countries to run clinical trials on the effectiveness of a few drugs to treat COVID-19 patients.

He said Malaysia was chosen due to the country's capability to conduct research at a high level, and having the right platform and researchers to do so.