Sarawak to buy more Paxlovid antiviral pills,says Dr Sim

The first shipment of the Paxlovid pills which have arrived in Malaysia. – Photo from Twitter/Noor Hisham Abdullah

KUCHING (April 14): Sarawak intends to buy additional doses of Paxlovid antiviral pill for treatment of Covid-19 to complement those allocated by the Ministry of Health (MOH), said Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian.

Dr Sim, who is also Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government, said MOH allocated Sarawak with 2,400 doses out of the first shipment of Paxlovid pills which arrived in Malaysia on Saturday.

According to Dr Sim, the demand for these oral pills developed by Pfizer is extremely high globally.

“(Sarawak) has followed up meeting with Pfizer Malaysia on this very exciting oral anti Covid-19 pill.

“Sarawak Covid-19 Vaccination Advisory Group (Scovag) who are local health experts and the State Secretariat will follow up negotiations and legal paperwork for the Sarawak government to buy additional doses of Paxlovid to complement MOH’s allocation for Sarawak,” he said in his Facebook post on Tuesday.

Dr Sim also said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg had given instructions to acquire any of the latest scientifically proven medications for Sarawakians.

“(This is) to supplement or complement MOH if necessary as Sarawakians’ lives must come first despite healthcare is under the purview of the federal government,” he added.

It was recently reported the first shipment of the oral drug, which was recommended for the treatment of Covid-19 patients aged 18 and above who did not require oxygen therapy but were at high risk of manifesting severe symptoms, were delivered to Pharmaniaga Logistic Sdn Bhd.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on his Twitter account wrote that the antiviral drug was not intended to be used as a substitute for Covid-19 vaccination or a substitute for public health measures to prevent Covid-19 infection.

“Paxlovid is another weapon against Covid-19, which is an antiviral drug for the treatment of Covid-19. It is given immediately after being detected positive for Covid-19 and within five days symptoms onset, for optimal effectiveness,” he had said.

On March 5, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was reported as saying that a total of 11,000 high-risk patients would receive the first batch of the antiviral drug.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3Ec7Q26
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