KUALA LUMPUR: Sinovac will begin its third phase of vaccine clinical trials for children in Malaysia under 12 at the end of this month, says Deputy Health Minister II Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.
“Malaysia has been selected as one of the locations for the Sinovac third phase clinical trials.
“The trials are expected to begin at the end of October and will be carried out at 10 research locations involving eight facilities under the Health Ministry, Universiti Malaya and UiTM,” Aaron said when replying to a question raised by Wong Kah Woh (PH-Ipoh Timur) in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.
Apart from Sinovac, he said the other vaccine that is being studied is Novavax.
He informed the House that the ministry has also been in contact with several vaccine manufacturers for their latest data on vaccines for those below the age of 12.
“However, we have yet to get the data that is needed from the companies producing the Covid-19 vaccines,” he added.
So far, he noted that only Pfizer-BioNTech had published its third phase clinical vaccine trial findings for children between ages three and five, on Sept 20 this year.
“The vaccine was found to be safe and showed a strong neutralisation antibody reaction,” he said, adding that the company submitted its findings to the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Oct 21.
Aaron also said China has approved two vaccines, produced by Sinovac Biotech Ltd and Sinopharm, for emergency use for children between three and 17 years old.
He said Phase I and II of clinical trials show that the vaccines are safe with increased immunity reaction among children and adolescents.
Meanwhile, former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad urged the government to take note of the US FDA’s announcement on the use of Pfizer vaccines on children below 12 at 8.30pm on Tuesday.
“While we respect the findings of the vaccine studies, we should also take heed of what international bodies or jurisdictions have to say,” he said.
Dr Dzulkefly said so far 108 children have died due to Covid-19.
He added that as at Oct 23, 198 out of 235 children with Covid-19, fell under Categories Three, Four and Five.
Patients under these categories require admission for medical treatment, which includes breathing assistance in intensive care units.The Deputy Minister assured Dr Dzulkefly that the ministry will take note of the US FDA’s announcement.
Aaron said that vaccination of adolescents has reduced Covid-19 infections among youths.
He said the previous infection rate among children stood between 15% and 20%.
It has now reduced to below 12% since the recent vaccination programme for youths between the ages of 12 and 17 began.