Khairy: Drug shortage will be resolved by next month | Daily Express Online
Khairy: Drug shortage will be resolved by next month
Published on: Tuesday, June 21, 2022
By: Malay Mail
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Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin speaks during a press conference in Petaling Jaya on June 21, 2022. (Malay Mail Pic)
Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Health is currently monitoring the drug shortage problem in the country and has conducted random surveys at local health facilities to assess the situation. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said through the survey carried out in seven hospitals and 10 private clinics, it was found that at least one medicine usually used to treat common ailments like cough and cold fever faces a shortage. “Since June 16, 1,231 products have been sent to Product Registrants for active ingredient feedback… we have received 50% of the feedback. There is a shortage of alternative products that have been pointed out by the medical association of hospitals and so on so that they can get alternative medicine.
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“Last week, the Ministry of Health agreed to loan drugs to private medical institutions that have enough. We expect this situation to stabilize within about a month,” he told a news conference today. On June 9, Khairy said the problem of drug shortages was not due to panic buying by members of the public. He said the shortage was due to the high demand for certain drugs following the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and the increase in cases of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) at the moment.
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However, Khairy said the situation is not reported nationwide and only affects several locations. Earlier this month, MP for Bandar Kuching, Dr Kelvin Yii, raised the issue and urged the government to come up with a clear policy to address the current drug shortage in the country. He said this was in addition to developing a “longer-term national drug safety strategy” to prevent future drug shortages in Malaysia, given the country’s current vulnerable position as a net importer of pharmaceutical products.
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