THE Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) urged the Government to rope in community pharmacists to hasten the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK).
“Pharmacists from the private sector should also be roped in immediately for the vaccination roll out to increase accessibility of vaccines and improve vaccination rate,” said its president Amrahi Buang, in a statement.
Many political leaders and non-governmental organisations have complained about the slow vaccination rate by the Government, with some assessment saying that it would take several years before Malaysia reaches “herd immunity” going at the current speed.
In April, Coordinating Minister for PICK Khairy Jamaluddin had claimed that the problem was attributed to low supply of vaccines, as rich nations purchase between three to five times more than their need.
He added that pharmaceutical companies also seemed to prioritise wealthier nations but did not elaborate on the reasons.
“That is also why Malaysia has had to balance our COVID-19 vaccine portfolio to include Pfizer, AstraZeneca but also those from non-Western countries like Sinovac (China),” Khairy said in a statement.
“Based on delivery schedules we have received from our suppliers, we will start getting a more steady and ample supply of vaccines from June onwards. This is when I project mass vaccinations will be in full swing.
Officials not responding
“For now, demand outstrips supply. Most importantly, the graph shows that we will have enough supplies coming to ensure we hit our 80% population target before the end of the year. This is according to the current portfolio and plan we announced in February,” online medical portal CodeBlue reported the Rembau MP as saying.
On that note, Amrahi lamented that while the Special Committee on Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) had included community pharmacists in Phase 1 of the inoculation process, the rollout was not inclusive, with some getting left out.
He added that as the pandemic rages on, the public are depended on community pharmacists to treat their minor ailments, as well as getting medical supplies to avoid crowding clinics and hospitals.
“Therefore, MPS urges the Health Ministry and JKJAV to immediately include community pharmacists who did not make the cut at that time as well as support staffs which include trainee pharmacists, locum pharmacists, pharmacy assistants and store assistants.
“The support staff play a crucial role to enable a community pharmacy to function well and it’s not sufficient for only the pharmacists to be vaccinated to prevent an outbreak.
“Despite numerous written appeals through the official channels, MPS is disappointed that no immediate action has been taken to remedy this gap,” Amrahi remarked – May 30, 2021.
