TANGKAK: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has instructed the Health Ministry (MoH) and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) to secure more Covid-19 vaccines.
He said the government has signed agreements to secure vaccines for about 30 per cent of the population.
"I have instructed MoH and Mosti to negotiate for more vaccines, enough for 60 to 70 per cent of the population as recommended by MoH," said Muhyiddin.
He said that the two ministries have also been instructed to ensure faster delivery of the vaccines to Malaysia.
"We are supposed to receive the vaccines in March, but I have asked MoH and Mosti to accelerate the delivery of the vaccines," said Muhyiddin.
He said this in his speech at a Deepavali celebration at the Dewan Muniandy in Sagil, here.
Last month, the Prime Minister announced that the government had signed an agreement with pharmaceutical firm Pfizer to procure 12.8 million of its Covid-19 vaccine, which is enough for about 20 per cent of the population.
The government also signed a deal for the Covid-19 vaccine through the global access (COVAX) facility for 10 per cent of Malaysians.
Muhyiddin said ensuring the safety of the people is the most important thing for the government at the moment.
"As long as there are people suffering, I will not stop working and will work every day. It is not only about controlling the virus but also about managing the economy," said Muhyiddin.
He said a lot of people have lost their livelihoods because of the pandemic.
"We are currently carrying out a study to find out how many more Malaysians have fallen into the B40 category. I am sure the number would be more.
"Maybe it would not be the B40 category anymore but the B50 or B60 categories. I want to make sure there are no Malaysians dying of hunger," said Muhyiddin.
He also reminded the people to always follow the standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the government.
"It is the responsibility of everybody to help flatten the curve of Covid-19 infection. We should adopt the SOPs as the new normal," said Muhyiddin.