Government to procure more Paxlovid pills - Khairy

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin announced that the government is currently in talks with Pfizer to acquire more of its Paxlovid pills.

This comes after Malaysia received 48,000 boxes of the pills on Monday, making it the first oral antiviral therapy available in Malaysia for treating Covid-19. 

At a broadcast press conference today, Khairy said that the government has ordered enough to treat 104,000 patients as of now.

However, he said that Malaysia intends to acquire another 100,000 courses in the future. 

The pills will only be offered in government facilities, namely Covid-19 assessment centres (CAC) and government hospitals. 

Khairy said that the 48,000 courses that arrived in Malaysia have been distributed to 14 locations thus far, with two more to be delivered to Sabah and Sarawak tomorrow. 

“These deliveries involve 481 CAC health clinics and 15 government hospitals,” he added. 

Noor Hisham previously told Malaysiakini the 48,000 boxes delivered represents 45.8 percent of Malaysia’s order of 104,700 boxes of the drug.

The pill is recommended for Covid-19 patients above 18 years old who may not need oxygen therapy yet but are at high risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms later.

Khairy said today that Covid-19 patients that arrive at CAC clinics and government hospitals will be screened and assessed by a medical officer based on predetermined criteria before starting treatment. 

Patients given a score of three and above will be given priority for the treatment. 

According to Khairy, studies show that the use of the drug can reduce hospitalisation or death by up to 90 percent. 

However, he stressed that the drug is not to be used in lieu of Covid-19 vaccination. 

For optimum efficacy, the drug should be taken within five days of experiencing symptoms.

Infographics by the Health Ministry explained that patients should take one white (ritonavir) tablet and two pink (nirmatrelvir) tablets at a time, twice a day, for five days. It should be swallowed whole at the same time, not chewed.

Expected side effects include muscle pain, changes to the sensation of taste, vomiting, diarrhoea, and high blood pressure.

Apart from Paxlovid, the ministry also approved another antiviral pill, molnupiravir, on April 7 for treating Covid-19. However, Malaysia has yet to receive any of the latter except for clinical trials before the drug was approved.  - Mkini