Malaysia to sign deal for AstraZeneca vaccine: Bernama

[MUMBAI] Malaysia will sign an agreement on Monday for AstraZeneca to supply Covid-19 vaccine doses to cover a fifth of the country's population, state news agency Bernama reported, citing Health Minister Adham Baba.

The government last month ordered 12.8 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to inoculate about 20 per cent of the population. It also has an agreement with the World Health Organization's Covax facility for enough doses to vaccinate 10 per cent of its people, Bernama reported.

The country will start vaccinating frontline workers early next year if the deals are concluded, Bernama cited the minister as saying.

Malaysia seeks to vaccinate 70 per cent of its population, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said this month. The country is struggling to contain a fresh wave of cases that emerged in late September, with new daily infections hitting a record 2,234 on Dec 10.

BLOOMBERG