Due to the delay in Pharmaniaga Berhad’s delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine in April, May and June, the government paid a premium price of between 16.78 and 18.12 per cent to obtain a portion of Sinovac’s finished product.
In its report on the Covid-19 vaccine procurement, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) stated that the government delivered the vaccines to recipients as soon as possible during the period covered by the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme.
“The government should stick to the prices agreed upon in the beginning.
“PAC, on the other hand, was pleased with the coordination between the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti), the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, and other agencies in implementing the Covid-19 National Immunisation Programme.
“Due to a lack of funds, the government could not make a strategic bet on producers for early bookings in the absence of clinical data. This was one of the reasons Malaysia was not able to procure the vaccines earlier,” said the report presented to Parliament on Dec 1, 2021.
According to the PAC, producers’ vaccines that were not delivered on time contributed to the delays and uncertainty in vaccination appointments.
It also noted that the RM3 billion Covid-19 Fund allocation announced in the 2021 Budget was not included in the overall budget of RM322.5 billion. It said the vaccines were procured in accordance with the Finance Ministry’s financial procedures.
It found the government’s vaccine procurement prices in various portfolios to be ‘satisfactory’ and reasonable.
The allocation for NIP increased from RM3 billion in the 2021 Budget to RM5.8 billion.
