Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has announced that the COVID-19 vaccine booster programme is now extended to all adults aged 18 years old and above. The Technical Working Group (TWG) under the COVID-19 Immunisation Task Force for Booster (CITF-B) has revealed a list of recommended homologous and heterologous booster vaccines for individuals who have completed their COVID-19 vaccination.
At the moment, Malaysia’s Drug Control Authority has approved Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty), Sinovac (CoronaVac) and AstraZeneca vaccines for the COVID-19 vaccine booster programme. Eligible adults will receive their appointments through Mysejahtera and you can also register yourself on the waiting list at public and private health facilities.
The booster shot appointments will be sent out with priority given based on age step down approach, frontliners, individuals with comorbidity, pregnant women and requirements for international travel.
Boosters for Sinovac Recipients
According to the provided table, individuals who have been fully vaccinated with Sinovac are recommended to get their booster shot 3 months after the second dose. TWG recommends Pfizer for all age groups or AstraZeneca for individuals aged 50 and above. Individuals who can’t take Pfizer or AstraZeneca as a booster will be given Sinovac as an alternative. The statement also mentions that individuals who choose to take Sinovac for their third shot can inform their vaccination centre about their request.
Boosters for AstraZeneca Recipients
If you’ve gotten two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines, TWG still recommends AstraZeneca as your third dose 6 months after the second shot. Pfizer is also permitted as a booster for individuals fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
Boosters for other vaccine recipients
For other vaccines such as Pfizer, Moderna (Spikevax), CanSino (Covilo) and Johnson & Johnson (Janssen), TWG recommends Pfizer for all age groups or AstraZeneca for individuals aged 50 and above. Individuals who have gotten Pfizer, Moderna and Cansino are recommended to get their booster jab 6 months after their last dose while Sinopharm recipients are recommended to get their booster 3 months after the second shot. Meanwhile, individuals who have received Johnson & Johnson vaccines are recommended to get their booster 2 months after their last jab.
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