Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Zulkefly assured that the ministry has sufficient flu vaccines and urged all parties not to panic.
He stated that although some types of flu vaccines in the country have run out, new supplies are expected to arrive in March this year.
He told The Star that pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare companies producing flu vaccines in the country confirmed this situation.
“The global vaccine adoption rate is very high, and they told me their stock has run out, but they will restock in early March. However, they plan to switch to the trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) starting this September.”
He further stated that the supply situation of flu vaccines in our country highlights some challenges in supply stability, especially for the quadrivalent vaccine.
He said that there are currently 4 registered brands of flu vaccines, but only two are available in the market, namely Vaxigrip Tetra (Sanofi) and Influvac Tetra (Abbott).
Meanwhile, Fluarix Tetra (GSK) is no longer available, and SKYCellflu (Phamaceuticals, SK Bioscience) is out of stock in our country.
“Currently, the unexpected surge in demand for flu vaccines has affected the supply of the remaining two products.”
He noted that the Ministry of Health is closely monitoring the vaccine supply situation, and the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency is also in communication with the product registration holders to ensure supply.
He stated that these proactive measures are crucial in ensuring flu vaccines meet current demand, especially to enhance public health protection during the flu season.
According to reports, the Chairman of the Malaysian Private Practitioners Association, Sam Ganadan, revealed that some flu vaccines are out of stock.
The demand for flu vaccines surged after Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu recently died from influenza in Japan.