Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac recommended for booster jabs

The Technical Working Committee (TWG) under the Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force-Booster (CITF-B) has recommended booster shots using three types of vaccines to be administered to all residents aged 18 and above.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the vaccines are Comirnaty, AstraZeneca and CoronaVac with appointment priority given according to the age step down approach, and to frontliners, individuals with comorbidities, pregnant women and those who need to travel abroad.

“For recipients of the CoronaVac vaccine, the booster dose will be given three months after the second dose. They are recommended to receive a booster dose from Comirnaty (Pfizer) for all levels or the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals aged 50 and above.

“For individuals who cannot take Comirnaty or AstraZeneca as a booster dose, the CoronaVac (Sinovac) vaccine can be administered. Nonetheless they have to inform the vaccination centre (PPV) to receive the vaccine,” he said in a statement.

AstraZeneca vaccine recipients will be given a booster dose six months after the second dose. They are recommended to receive the same vaccine for all ages even though the Comirnaty vaccine can be used.

Khairy said for the recipients of other vaccines such as Comirnaty, Spikevax (Moderna) and Convidecia (CanSino), Covilo (Sinopharm) and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), they are recommended to receive the Comirnaty vaccine as the booster dose for all ages or the AstraZeneca vaccine for individuals aged 50 and above.

“Recipients of Comirnaty, Spikevax and Convidecia will be given a booster dose six months after the last jab while for recipients of the Covilo vaccine, it is three months after the second dose and the Janssen vaccine, two months after the last shot,” he said.

He said the booster jabs will be administered at private medical practitioner facilities or off-site private health facilities, or at selected health clinics and government hospitals as well as outreach centres.

He said appointments for booster jabs for eligible individuals will be given through the MySejahtera application. Recipients can also register on the waiting list to obtain appointment dates at selected public and private health facilities.

The list of public and private health facilities involved in administering booster shots can be obtained via the health ministry website at https://covid19.moh.gov.my/vaksin-covid-19 or Protect Health website at https://protecthealth.com.my/.