PETALING JAYA: A range of Covid-19 vaccines should be available once private vaccinations begin so that the public can choose the ones that suit their needs, says a senior doctor.
Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia president Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh said this could be made possible as the issue of unfair vaccine distribution should not arise by August when the private vaccination programme is supposed to begin.
By then, most of the population would already have been vaccinated, particularly frontliners, low-income earners and those in the vulnerable groups, he added.
“Vaccination against Covid-19 is deemed to be a long-term solution to the pandemic which may be inclusive of the possibility of booster doses next year.
“With this in mind, it will be only logical that private vaccination should be open to all types and brands of vaccines as consumers will pay based on their selected choice,” he said in a statement on Friday (June 25).
Dr Kuljit said the government’s decision to allow private vaccination by August is timely as there are those who are desperate to have their vaccines early for travel and business reasons.
He said the association understands that it would be impossible for private practitioners to have a choice of vaccines for patients to choose at the moment due to global shortages and unfair international distribution.
At the same time, he urged the government to reconsider its decision to confine doctors to a certain brand or type of vaccine when private vaccinations start.
Dr Kuljit said confining private practitioners to a limited choice defeats the primary reason for having private vaccinations.
“The private sector would be very cautious if the type of vaccine they pay for is limited as it is common knowledge that the acceptability of vaccines internationally varies largely on the source and type of vaccines,” he said.
On Thursday (June 24), National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the private vaccination process could begin in August as the country expects to receive more supplies.
Khairy said he also instructed a government-linked pharmaceutical company to start talking to Chinese companies about importing vaccines for the local private market.
Previously, Khairy urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be firm and get countries around the world to recognise all types of Covid-19 vaccine on the WHO list for emergency use, adding that vaccine discrimination would not be an issue if the world abided by the list.
He explained at a press conference after visiting the mega vaccination centre (PPV) at Bukit Jalil stadium on Monday (June 21) that countries in the European Union currently only accepted Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines while China approved only vaccines manufactured by China.
Khairy said by following the WHO list, countries would not discriminate against vaccines and the world would get out of the pandemic sooner.