However, only one is suitable for pregnant women and mothers who are breastfeeding.

The most suitable one

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy Jamaluddin has confirmed that out of the three vaccines currently being offered by the government, only the Pfizer-BioNTech one is suitable for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

He told Malay Mail that based on the advice of the expert working group at the Ministry of Health, the Pfizer vaccine is suitable for pregnant mothers of between 14 weeks to 33 weeks.

However, it is also advisable for pregnant women to postpone their vaccination until after they give birth, Khairy said.

He added that the Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines are not really suitable to be taken by pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.

“For breastfeeding moms it is advisable for them to take Pfizer, for Sinovac it is not advisable for them to take at this time. However for breastfeeding mothers, the safety data available is limited and any recommendation will be made after consultations.

“For AstraZeneca, it is the same case with the Sinovac vaccine. Pregnant mothers are not advised to take the vaccines and for breastfeeding mothers, available safety data is also limited and any recommendation will be made after consultation," he was quoted as saying.

Total vaccinated so far

As of 12 May, a total of 732,305 individuals have completed two doses of vaccine jabs under the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba told Bernama.

On top of that number, a further 1,182,133 individuals have received their first dose, bringing the total number of those inoculated in the country so far to 1,914,438.