KUALA LUMPUR: The federal medicine stockpile will be released to private clinics from today, starting with paracetamol, to address the shortage of medicines, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
"The release of certain medicines from the federal government's stockpile to private clinics to address medicine shortage will start today with paracetamol.
"If you are asked to buy paracetamol at private clinics with the Health Ministry's KKM logo, it is from the stockpile and is proper," he said in a Twitter post today.
On July 15, Khairy announced that the ministry was planning to release the federal medicine stockpile to private hospitals and clinics, following a meeting with pharmaceutical associations, industry players and suppliers to address the shortage of medicines.
He said Pharmaniaga Bhd, the company responsible for the supply, had agreed to the measure.
The shortage of medicines mostly involved antibiotics, paediatric medications, cough syrups, and medication for food poisoning, fever and flu.
Last week, Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Koh Kar Chai said the surge in demand for medicines was due to a variety of factors, including the increasing number of Covid-19 cases from the Omicron variant and the relaxation of standard operating procedures, including the opening of borders.
Dr Koh said the sudden increase in demand for medicines had happened in other countries too.