Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines have been conditionally approved as boosters in Malaysia

According to the Malaysian Health Ministry, the Drug Control Authority (DCA) has given conditional approval to the Covid-19 vaccines from Sinovac and AstraZeneca as booster doses.

Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, the director-general of the Ministry of Health, said in a statement on Wednesday (Nov 17) that the two vaccines had been approved for use as booster doses for those aged 18 and up who had previously received vaccines of the same type (homologous).

"For AstraZeneca, the booster vaccination will be given six months after the second dosage, whereas for CoronaVac, the booster dose will be given three to six months after the second dose," Dr Noor Hisham explained.

The Covid-19 Immunisation Booster Task Force (CITF-B) will outline and announce the administration of booster doses for both forms of vaccination to targeted groups on a regular basis.

He went on to say that the Health Ministry wanted to emphasise that the conditional registration permission needed information on the vaccines' quality, safety, and efficacy to be monitored and reviewed using the most up-to-date data.

"This is to ensure that the vaccines' benefit to risk ratio remains good," stated Dr. Noor Hisham.

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