Private hospitals are ready to work with the government to purchase their own supply of COVID-19 vaccines.
The Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) told us that these facilities hope to start negotiations soon in order to get the vaccines by as early as mid-year.
Photo via The Star
APHM President Datuk Dr Kuljit Singh says any delays could result in vaccines only arriving in the third or fourth quarter of the year, dashing hopes of a quick roll out of private vaccination drives to cover economic frontliners.
Dr Kuljit has also assured that this will not affect the availability of vaccines allocated under the National Immunisation Programme (NIP).
Meanwhile, Dr Kuljit says they do not have any specific manufacturers in mind.
He says they are open to any vaccine as long as it has been approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA).
This comes after the NIP’s Coordinating Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, recently said that he will discuss the possibility of private hospitals obtaining their own vaccine supply.
By: Elle Firdouz
