PENANG is still experiencing a shortage of Covid-19 antigen rapid test kits (RTK) in the market, says Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) Penang branch.
Its chairman Gina Koay Wan Lee said some pharmacy chains and stores in the state are still having problems providing an adequate supply of Covid-19 self-test kits for their customers.
“Last month is the worst due to the Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration, there was a critical shortage of self-test kit stocks due to the drastic demand from the people.
“And this had caused the supplier having a problem to supply us the stock to meet the higher demand and we had to sell whatever stock we had in our pharmacy.
“The higher demand is probably because of the higher cases of Covid-19 due to the new Omicron variant. So, people want to be more careful and vigilant. And this led to strong demand in the market for self-test kits.
“The people buy more than they usually do. We can see a lot of customers are stocking up now.
“Even though stocks are still available, demand is moving very fast, and the supply has to chase that demand.
“The supply situation in pharmacies has improved a bit compared with last month.
“The shortage is still there at some pharmacy chains and stores in the state,” Koay told Buletin Mutiara when contacted today.
Recently, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry said that the shortage of Covid-19 self-test kits in the country would be over soon.
The ministry said the supply in certain states and locations was disrupted following the surge of Covid-19 cases in the country, coupled with delivery delays from manufacturers in China over the Chinese New Year holidays.
The ministry also said that the supply of the test kits is expected to recover soon as manufacturers, wholesalers, and logistics and delivery companies have started to become fully operational again.
Koay also reminded the public to be more careful when they try to purchase Covid-19 self-test kits through the online platform.
“Please ensure that the self-test kits have already obtained the necessary approval by the Medical Device Authority (MDA) to prevent ourselves from buying doubtful test kits.
“And do consult a pharmacist to know the correct technique to use the test kits. This way, we can teach them to use the Covid-19 self-test kits properly and prevent them from getting questionable results,” she added.
Several pharmacy chains and stores on the Penang island and the mainland were facing supply disruptions of Covid-19 self-test kits.
Siti Hajar Al-Robiyatul Mohd Amin, who works as a pharmacy assistant at Green River Pharmacy in Sungai Dua, said the stock of Covid-19 self-test kits was running low due to the panic buying last few weeks.
“There is also a case where some business owners buying the kits in bulk for their employees and thus, caused the shortage.
“However, the new stock is coming in by batches in the next one to three weeks.
“Hopefully, this will solve the shortage problem,” she said.
As for pharmacist Wong Yoke Lay, she said the supply of Covid-19 self-test kits is still enough at her store.
“However, the price has to be increased as some suppliers have also increased their price due to the logistic cost.
“But it is still within the price capped by the Government,” she said.
The Government had set the ceiling price for Covid-19 self-test kits at RM19.90 per unit, and the wholesale price at RM16 per kit, effective Sept 5 last year.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix courtesy of interviewees