PETALING JAYA: There is no need to panic as the Health Ministry has an adequate supply of flu vaccines in its healthcare facilities, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic).
The Health Minister said that although the country has run out of certain types of the flu vaccine, the new stock is expected to arrive by March.
Speaking to The Star on Sunday (Feb 9), Dzulkefly said this situation was confirmed by the pharmaceutical and healthcare company handling flu vaccines in Malaysia.
"There was a high uptake globally. They informed me that they have run out of stock, but it will be restocked in early March.
"They are, however, switching to trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines (TIV) come September this year," said Dzulkefly.
(TIV protects against three different Influenza viruses, while Sanofi flu shots protect against two types of influenza A and B strains each.)
“The influenza vaccine supply situation in Malaysia highlights some challenges in ensuring the stability of product availability, particularly for quadrivalent vaccines.
“There are four registered influenza vaccine brands, but currently, only two are actively available on the market - namely Vaxigrip Tetra (Sanofi) and Influvac Tetra (Abbott) – which is supplied under the contract with the Health Ministry.
“Fluarix Tetra (GSK) is no longer marketed, and SKYCellflu (Pharmaniaga Marketing, SK Bioscience Korea) has no stock in the country.
“Currently, there is an unexpected surge in demand for influenza vaccines, affecting the supply of the two remaining products.
“Sanofi is working to secure supplies from Thailand and France to meet demand in the private sector, while Abbott, although still having stock, has commitments tied to its contract with the Health Ministry.
“The Pharmacy Services Programme is closely monitoring the vaccine supply in Health Ministry facilities, and the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency is also in communication with the product registration holders to ensure a smooth supply.
“These proactive measures are crucial to ensure that the influenza vaccines meet the current demand, especially in efforts to strengthen public health protection during the flu season,” said Dzulkefly.
The Star reported that Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations Malaysia president Dr.Shanmuganathan TV Ganeson had said some vaccines are out of stock.
General practitioners are reported to be seeing a spike in demand following the death of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu, from a flu in Japan recently.
"There is currently no stock. None in Sanofi, Zuellig or third-party drug reseller companies.
"The new batch of vaccines may be available by early March," said Dr Shanmuganathan.
