Datuk Dr Subramaniam Muniandy
KUCHING (Sept 6): The government must ensure responsible sale of Covid-19 self-test kits to protect consumers, said Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Prof Dato Dr Subramaniam Muniandy.
He said while the aim was to encourage the use of these kits to test for Covid-19, they were regarded as medical devices and therefore, it was imperative that the sale of such items be strictly controlled and regulated.
Self-test kits must go through stringent checks by the Medical Devices Authority (MDA) before obtaining approval for use, he added.
“Once they are available in the market, authorised sellers must ensure responsible sale of these self-test kits.
“For example, the self-test kits must not be sold if the packaging had been tampered with or opened, as this would contaminate the kits and therefore, it could not be used,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Dr Subramaniam was responding to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s announcement about the purchase of Covid-19 self-test kits to be ‘liberalised’ so that consumers could purchase them from places such as grocery stores, instead of only pharmacies and healthcare facilities.
Dr Subramaniam pointed out that if the self-test kits were to be sold in grocery stores, there might not be proper handling of the product and it would also be more difficult for the authorities to monitor and regulate them.
“Those selling the self-test kits also need to be properly trained to guide consumers when more information on using the kits is required,” he said.
He said MMA was deeply concerned that the decision by the Ministry of Health might also lead to widespread commercialisation of the self-test kits, as well as other issues such as the emergence of bogus, ‘pirated’, contaminated or even recycled kits.
“We urge the Health Ministry to revert to its original policy of only allowing healthcare facilities and pharmacies to sell the Covid-19 self-test kits to ensure responsible sale of these medical devices. After all, there are more than 10,000 pharmacies and healthcare facilities nationwide that communities can easily access to,” he said.
Dr Subramaniam also suggested that as an alternative, the government could look into ‘pooled procurement’ of the self-test kits to enjoy the maximum reduction in pricing.
“These kits can then be given free to the B40 group, or partly subsidised for all (consumers) through a special programme,” he added.