PETALING JAYA: Khairy Jamaluddin has rubbished claims that Malaysia will be paying more than 20 times the price that Belgium is paying for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine.
“RM3 billion (that Malaysia will pay) is our overall estimate to get coverage for at least 70% of our population,” he said in a tweet today when correcting claims by DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.
Lim had earlier highlighted a tweet by Belgian secretary of state Eva De Bleeker who accidentally revealed that her country paid 12 euros (about RM60) per dose for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Last month, Putrajaya inked an agreement with Pzifer Inc to obtain its Covid-19 vaccine for 20% of the population. The doses will cover 6.4 million people.
Khairy, the science, technology and innovation minister, further said the RM3 billion was for “at least” 50 million doses if double doses are required.
The price for each dose sold to Malaysia is unknown, as Pfizer requires a non-disclosure agreement.
“The prime minister will make an announcement soon about our portfolio of vaccines, it’s population coverage and overall price. But we cannot disclose each deal,” Khairy added.
However, Khairy said the government aims to get “a good portfolio of vaccines at a fair price.”
Khairy had previously told Dewan Rakyat that negotiations with vaccine manufacturers were still ongoing.