Covid-19: Health Ministry to issue statement on AstraZeneca vaccine soon, says Dr Dzul

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry will be issuing a statement involving pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca over its Covid-19 vaccine soon, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

“The Health Ministry will be issuing a statement in the near future. Please be patient,” the Health Minister said when met with reporters at the Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM) Trial Connect 2024 at Connexion @ Nexus here on Thursday (May 9).

Dzulkefly said this when asked on the progress of the issue after the ministry said it would seek clarification from AstraZeneca in relation to the side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine as reported by foreign press recently.

ALSO READ: MOH wants AstraZeneca’s transparency on adverse reactions to vaccine

On May 5, Indonesia's National Commission for the Study and Prevention of Adverse Events Following Immunisation, along with its Health Ministry and the Food and Drug Authority (BPOM) said there were no reported cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) associated with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in the republic.

Earlier, international media reported that pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca admitted in a court document that its Covid-19 vaccine could cause rare side effects.

ALSO READ: Health Ministry to seek AstraZeneca clarification on acknowledgement of vaccine side effects

The firm is facing lawsuits over claims that the vaccine could cause death or serious injury, with a total of 51 cases filed in the UK High Court and claims totalling almost £100mil (RM595mil).

On May 2, Dzulkefly said his ministry would continue to monitor and deal with the matter based on evidence of symptoms, in addition to having clinical guidelines to treat affected individuals.

He said it was important for the pharmaceutical company to address safety concerns by providing an explanation to Malaysia and the world, even though the risk of side effects from the vaccine is relatively low.