Consumers group voices concerns over Covid-19 vaccine

GEORGE TOWN, Dec 10 ― The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has written to Putrajaya voicing its concerns over the Covid-19 vaccine that the government is acquiring.

CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said they have serious reservations about the efficacy of the vaccine and its possible long-term side effects.

“This will be administered to the public, especially the vulnerable groups, so the government has to be very careful and not rush into obtaining it to vaccinate the people,” he said during a press conference at the CAP office today.

He said the vaccine has to be properly tested before it is made available to the masses.

Mohideen was commenting on reports that Malaysia is securing its first batch of Covid-19 vaccine doses for 20 per cent of its 32 million population.

He said other countries and groups have also raised similar concerns over the Covid-19 vaccine.

“Sometimes, big pharmaceutical companies producing the vaccine are driven by profits so in the rush to make the vaccine available, there might be side effects,” he said.

He said the public could end up becoming “guinea pigs” to test the effectiveness of the vaccine.

CAP is also questioning the details of the agreement that the government entered into with the vaccine producers.

“The government needs to disclose the details of the agreement, it should not be kept secret as the public has a right to know because it is the people who ultimately have to pay in terms of liability and side effects,” he said.

He asked if the government will indemnify the vaccine producers from liabilities in case of side effects or claims due to side effects from the vaccine.

“The vaccine producers should bear the responsibility of any liability claims and not the government,” he said.

He said the government must be transparent on this as it involved public funds.

CAP sent the letter to the Health Ministry yesterday and is yet to receive a reply.

Earlier, Mohideen announced the launch of CAP’s upgraded virtual platform and social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

He said the upgraded website is to give consumers a better platform to submit their complaints to CAP.

“Consumers will have easier access to our statements and information on all issues, including scams that are on the rise in recent times,” he said.

He said CAP will continue to work for the empowerment of the people so that their voices will be heard and not ignored.

CAP’s website is consumer.org.my and its Facebook is facebook.com/ConsumerAssociationPenang.