KUALA LUMPUR: It is unfair to discriminate against a certain brand of vaccine based on where it is manufactured, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.
He said this in light of reports that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) only approved AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in the EU, the United States, the United Kingdom and China.
However, the EMA's approval does not cover AstraZeneca doses made by South Korea's SK Bioscience or Thailand's Siam Bioscience, where both produce vaccines for Malaysia's order through the global Covax Facility and direct orders.
The approval could mean the barring of millions of travellers into Europe, as they would have been inoculated with vaccines made in South Korea and Thailand.
Khairy said Malaysia would retain its opposition against vaccine discrimination, adding that the country would continue to approve all vaccines green-lit by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
"We ask for other countries to do the same. We hope there will not be any discrimination based on which factory the vaccine is manufactured.
"All AstraZeneca factories use the same formula. Whether the factory is in Europe, India, South Korea or Thailand, they produce the same vaccine.
"To me, it is unfair to discriminate against these factories. Nevertheless, we will continue to ask for an explanation from the European Union (EU) and also for them to start looking at vaccines that are being used in other countries," he told a press conference at Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) today.
Khairy who is also the coordinating minister for the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme said Malaysia was in talks with several countries over the vaccine discrimination issue.
He said more discussions were needed at the international level to ensure fairness in the matter, which among others, could affect haj in Saudi Arabia.
"A big number of Islamic countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey are using vaccines made by China and this includes Malaysia.
"Many of these vaccines have already been approved by the WHO and so when Saudi Arabia said that it does not recognise (certain brands of vaccines), how are the pilgrims supposed to go to the Holy Land (Makkah) in the coming years?
"We are still in discussion on this with Saudi Arabia and this issue on vaccine recognition needs to be discussed and streamlined at the international level. We hope there will not be any discrimination," he said.
Yesterday, news portal CodeBlue reported the EMA as saying that it was not responsible for any decision on travelling into the EU and travelling conditions associated with Covid-19 vaccination, such as the EU Digital Covid Certificate.
According to EMA, while South Korea's SK Bioscience is listed in Vaxzevria's product information as one of the manufacturers of the vaccine's biological active substance, this did not lead to automatic approval for use of the South Korean vaccine in the EU.
The EMA said the agency needed to evaluate vaccines based on "detailed information on manufacturing", among others.