KUALA LUMPUR: Only four people in one million who received Covid-19 vaccines developed side effects.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said those experiencing side effects were isolated cases.
"I did not show any side effects 48 hours after receiving the first jab, and from what I was informed, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also did not develop any symptoms (of negative reactions).
"I have yet to receive reports about side effects on those vaccinated such as anaphylactic (shock) and others, so this is a positive development.
"We hope more will come forward to register for the National Covid-19 Vaccination Programme via MySejahtera," he said during the virtual Covid-19 State of Emergency engagement session on the implementation of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
The media event was organised by the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, he explained it would be logistically difficult if the public were allowed to select which vaccines they wanted.
He also assured on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines that would be used, which had to be approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) first.
"Every vaccine imported to the country needs to get approval from the NPRA, which is responsible to make sure that the vaccine has been studied. We need Phase 3 clinical data (on the vaccine) to ensure its efficacy and safety.
"Once it is approved by NPRA, then it will made available to the public," he said.
He explained that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was used during Phase 1 of the vaccination programme as they have been approved by the NPRA, while other vaccines were still in the process of getting approvals.
Malaysia has secured procurement of 66.7 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facility from five producers. They are Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, CanSinoBIO and Sputnik V.
He said the Ministry would look into certain areas before deciding which group would be given the single-dose vaccine (such as the vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson).
"Single dose vaccine may be given to foreign workers, or even in the rural areas, but even the single dose vaccine has to achieve the quality and requirement set by the NPRA."
On Feb 17, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Malaysia was expected to enter into an agreement to procure the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Johnson & Johnson soon.
He said the government was still in the process of discussions to obtain information on the clinical trials related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.