The PH immunisation committee said this was important so that the majority of Malaysians will accept the vaccine when the rollout begins.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin confirmed that the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will arrive at the end of this month, and that they will be distributed first to 500,000 frontliners from the heath and non-health sectors.
However, PH said Muhyiddin did not announce a nationwide messaging campaign to increase confidence among Malaysians that the vaccines will be safe and effective.
“We cannot assume that Malaysians, and even frontliners, are ready to accept the vaccines,” the committee said in a statement.
It pointed out that the “anti-vaxxer” movement worldwide is gaining traction, especially on social media, and such groups exist even in Malaysia.
At the same time, it said, there are many parties who are not anti-vaxxers, with legitimate concerns about some of the vaccines that will be distributed locally.
It said a campaign should be carried out thoroughly in collaboration with scientists, medical professionals, respected celebrities and suitable opinion makers.
Malaysia currently has agreements to purchase the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine in addition to those from AstraZeneca, Sinovac and CanSinoBIO from China, as well as the Gamaleya National Centre in Russia.
The committee said that although national Covid-19 immunisation programme coordinator Khairy Jamaluddin has given a guarantee that vaccines in Malaysia will be approved by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency, many citizens are unaware of the approval process.
It said there are also indications that one or more vaccines may be given conditional approval, so it is important that there is clear information about the science and efficacy of every vaccine used in the country.
The committee also said the vaccination programme must be accompanied by a “test and trace” programme for every dose, from the storage place to the recipient.
“This is to give confidence that there will be suitable follow-up actions regarding the efficacy of every vaccination. This is also to avoid fake vaccines and fake vaccine certification from being used, as has been reported in a few countries.”
It said the government must also have comprehensive tracing mechanisms and communication strategies for those suffering Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI), including side effects.
“If this isn’t handled properly, negative news from AEFI cases after the first group of vaccine recipients may cause the subsequent recipient groups to refuse the Covid-19 vaccine,” it said.