RM4.7bil spent on buying Covid-19 vaccines

KUALA LUMPUR: An estimated RM4.72bil has been spent on purchasing 88.1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, says the Health Ministry.

This includes 20.4 million doses of SinoVac and 44.8 million doses of Corminaty for adults and adolescents as well as another 6.6 million doses for children.

The government also acquired 6.4 million doses of AstraZeneca from the World Health Organisation-backed Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) Facility, 6.4 million doses of AstraZeneca from Oxford University, and 3.5 million doses of CanSino.

This brought the number of vaccine doses purchased to a total of 88.1 million doses, covering 143.13% of the population, or 46.03 million adults, adolescents and children.

“Until Feb 18, 2022, the Health Ministry has ordered 88.1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine with an estimated cost of RM4.72bil for immunisation of the adult population, adolescents and children.

“Given that the government is bound by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with vaccine manufacturers, the details of each agreement cannot be disclosed including the price of the vaccine.

“However, the procurement cost for each type of vaccine has been explained in the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) proceedings in Parliament held on Aug 2, 2021,” said the ministry in a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.

This was in response to a question by Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) who asked the Health Minister to state the number of vaccines, needles and syringes as well as related supplies purchased by the government since 2020, and the cost.

Lim also asked about the total dose of vaccines disposed and the reasons for their disposal.

The ministry said a total of 89,089,900 units of Low Dead Volume (LDV) syringes and needles were procured for the administration of the vaccine at a cost of RM36.83mil.

“At the same time, the ministry also received LDV syringe and needle contributions of 2.7 million units worth RM891,000,” it said.

On the number of vaccines disposed, the ministry said it was still compiling data and conducting verification on this and could only inform the public once the process is completed.

Among the causes of Covid-19 wastage and disposal were issues with temperature deviations that compromise the quality, safety and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, it added.