MELAKA – A study to determine the suitable retail price of the Covid-19 self-test kit and whether price control can be implemented is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Hasnol Zam Zam Ahmad said the study involves various processes, including the gathering of accurate information at the manufacturer, seller and wholesaler levels.
He said accurate pricing is important to protect the interest of consumers, but at the same time, it has to take into account the rights of the manufacturers, sellers and wholesalers so as not to disrupt the supply of Covid-19 self-test kits in the local market.
“The ministry received complaints from the public on the prices of the Covid-19 self-test kits, but at the moment, it is not subject to price control. Instead, the prices are based on the rate suggested by medical authorities.
“However, we are in the midst of completing the information-gathering process before we can table it to the government for advice and a decision,” he said at the Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall here today.
He had earlier accompanied Melaka Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Ali Rustam on a visit to the industrial vaccination centre under the Retail Industry Vaccination (RiVAC) programme here.
Hasnol Zam Zam said more than 10 companies in the country have been given approval to sell and distribute the Covid-19 self-test kits, adding that most of the kits are imported and shipped using air transport, thus causing the cost to increase.
In another development, he said 5,241 companies with 245,290 workers have registered under the RiVAC programme so far to receive the Covid-19 vaccinations.
“Of the total, 35,724 individuals have received their first dose and we are targeting for the RiVAC programme to be completed by the end of September.
“In Melaka alone, 5,624 workers from 200 companies have received their vaccination appointments with 3,215 of them have been inoculated,” he said.
He said Melaka is the first state outside the Klang Valley to implement the RiVAC programme followed by Penang, adding that the programme would be expanded to several states such as Johor, Perak, Pahang and Kedah in stages soon. – Bernama, August 17, 2021
