In a statement, the company said this was in line with the announcement by health minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Feb 7 that all Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine recipients can now choose their preferred third vaccine dose.

“Those who are eligible for the booster dose and wish to obtain the Sinovac type vaccine can check the list of offsite PPVs on the ProtectHealth website,” it added.

ProtectHealth said that the Sinovac booster doses will be given for free at all its offsite PPVs.

Last Monday, Khairy revealed that a total of 3.5 million Sinovac recipients had yet to receive a booster shot, calling it “a huge number”.

“Many Sinovac recipients are still hesitant about the Pfizer vaccine as their booster. So, that is why I decided to allow them the option to choose Sinovac instead.

“They are all vulnerable to the Omicron variant because Sinovac’s effectiveness is not as good as Pfizer’s,” he said, adding that the health ministry still encourages everyone to get Pfizer or AstraZeneca “as it provides better protection”.

Previously, the health ministry offered Sinovac booster shots only to people with allergies to other vaccines.

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