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Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday granted conditional approval to Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccines to be used to deal with Covid-19 threats in Malaysia.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (pic) in a statement said the approval was obtained at the Drug Control Authority’s (DCA) meeting Friday.

“The conditional registration approval requires the latest information on the quality, safety and efficiency of the vaccines to be continuously observed and evaluated from time to time,” he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said it was to ensure the “benefit over risk” of the vaccines remains positive.

The Sinopharm or Covilo Suspension for Injection Covid-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell) Inactivated is developed by China National Biotec Group Company Limited and manufactured by Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd. (BIBP), China with Duopharma (M) Sdn Bhd as the product registration holder.

The Janssen Covid-19 Vaccine Suspension for Injection vaccine, on the other hand, is manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. Belgium with Johnson & Johnson Sdn Bhd as the product registration holder.

Dr Noor Hisham said the MOH would keep improving the level of public health amid Covid-19 through the procurement of vaccines that have been evaluated in terms of their quality, safety and efficiency by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency and approved by the DCA.

He said the government was highly committed to ensuring that the country’s adult population achieve herd immunity in line with the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme target.