We have a few Covid-19 vaccine options and some could be delivered in single shot such as CanSino Biologics from China and the recent option is Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine.
However, the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were authorized first, back in December and appear to be just as effective in the real world as they were in trials. Some people are sceptical about other vaccine options, and if given a choice, would rather choose Pfizer or Moderna than the rest of the vaccines available.
Vaccination is the talk of the town now and many people are wondering which Covid-19 vaccine they would get. As frontliners get the Pfizer vaccine, which people believe to be “a premium vaccine” Malaysians believe that it is unfair for the rest of the public to receive a different brand of vaccine which is Sinovac as they think the latter option is not as efficient as Pfizer and might have side effects.
Many are wondering if a particular type of Covid-19 vaccine is better for certain groups of people and will people have a choice?
In responding to the question, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysians will not be given the choice of which Covid-19 vaccine they want to take. He said it was impossible for Putrajaya to allow the public to decide on their choice of the vaccine as it would be “a big logistical nightmare”.
Khairy explained that the vaccines will be allocated according to the government’s mapping plan – based on their storage requirements and the vaccination centres identified by the health ministry. Any vaccine registered by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency is safe.
Khairy even emphasised that he will be the first to receive whichever Covid-19 vaccine that is approved next by Malaysia to encourage the public not to be selective about the vaccines they are offered.
What is the difference between Moderna, Pfizer and Sinovac vaccine?
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and it has 95% efficiency. While Sinovac is developed by China. The vaccine is currently undergoing phase 3 clinical trials and the efficiency is still unknown.
Which vaccine is recommended to take?
All vaccines are safe and effective. At the end of the day, any vaccine is better than no shot. Take the vaccine that you are offered. Indeed, there are advantages to all the vaccines and since they haven’t been studied head-to-head, we have no exact way of knowing which vaccine is best and for whom.
Bottom line: Supply is tight and the only way for us to get back to normal life is to get vaccinated quickly. Meaning, we have to accept whatever FDA-approved vaccine we can get. After all, they are all good options.
Discussion about this post