Over 52% of Sinovac recipients in Malaysia received COVID-19 vaccine booster, almost 90% had Pfizer

Malaysia has already administered over 6.8 million COVID-19 vaccine booster doses as more individuals are now eligible after health authorities have reduced the booster interval for most vaccine types to 3 months. To provide transparency on the ongoing booster program, the Ministry of Health has shared a new dataset which includes the breakdown of all booster combinations delivered so far.

As of 3rd January 2022, over 6.6 million boosters have been administered. As shared by Dr Mahesh Appannan, the Head of Data at the Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre, Ministry of Health, 52.9% of individuals fully vaccinated with Sinovac have received their COVID-19 boosters. From this figure, 86.4% have gotten Pfizer as their booster, followed by 11.7% that have taken Sinovac and 1.8% with AstraZeneca.

13.8% of individuals fully vaccinated with Pfizer have received their booster shots so far and 98.5% of them have gotten the Pfizer booster, followed by 1.3% having AstraZeneca and 0.2% having Sinovac for their booster.

Meanwhile, 7% of AstraZeneca recipients have gotten their booster with 71.1% of them receiving Pfizer booster, 28.6% receiving AstraZeneca, and 0.3% with Sinovac.

Bulk of Sinovac recipients have gotten their booster appointment earlier as it had a shorter 3-month vaccine interval versus Pfizer which initially had a longer 6-month interval. In addition, the Ministry of Health has announced last month that Sinovac recipients, as well as senior citizens, will lose their “Fully Vaccinated” status if they don’t get their booster shot by February 2022.

The shorter 3-month interval for Pfizer and AstraZeneca recipients was announced on 28th December 2021. The recommended booster for all vaccine types (except Moderna) is Pfizer. Alternative vaccines are permitted as well and it is listed by the technical working group as shown above.

Looking at the booster combination in total, 66.1% are currently having SSP (Sinovac+Sinovac+Prizer), followed by 21.3% with PPP (Pfizer+Pfizer+Pfizer), 8.9% with SSS (Sinovac+Sinovac+Sinovac) and 1.4% with SSA (Sinovac+Sinovac+AstraZeneca). Since boosters for AstraZeneca recipients have just started recently, 1.3% are AAP (AstraZeneca+AstraZeneca+Pfizer) and 0.5% have gotten AAA (AstraZeneca+AstraZeneca+AstraZeneca) combo.

The Ministry of Health has shared the raw data for vaccinations including booster combination as well as adverse effects following immunisation (AEFI) on GitHub. For a clearer view of the current COVID-19 situation and vaccination rate, you can use the COVIDNow dashboard.

Yesterday (4th January 2022), Malaysia had a record high 241,595 booster doses administered in a single day. 97.7% of Malaysia’s total adult population have been fully vaccinated and 29.3% have been boosted so far. Only 1.1% or about 250,000 adults have not been vaccinated.

All COVID-19 vaccines including boosters under the National Immunisation Programme are offered for free and the appointments are pushed out automatically via MySejahtera. At the moment, boosters are only given to eligible adults aged 18 years old and above.

For those who can’t wait, walk-in is currently not allowed. The public is advised to register on the waiting list at their preferred vaccination centre. Appointments are currently being prioritised, and individuals on the waiting list will be contacted if someone cancels their appointment or if there are no-shows.

Related reading

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• MOH evaluating 2nd booster after study finds Sinovac with Pfizer booster less effective against Omicron
• Thinking of walking-in? Those who want COVID-19 vaccine booster urged to register on the waiting list
• Khairy: Pfizer and AstraZeneca recipients will now get COVID-19 vaccine booster 3 months after second dose