KUALA LUMPUR – Echoing the calls of medical experts, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the costs of vaccines for Covid-19 should be controlled and made less than RM100 per dose for Malaysians.
The Port Dickson MP and PKR president also urged the prime minister to give more attention to the worrying number of Covid-19 cases, after the country’s daily infections breached 3,000 cases today.
Responding to an open letter to Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Anwar said the government must consider the views of the specialists. Among other things, they have called for increase in the number of Covid-19 tests using far cheaper Rapid Test Kits (RTK-Ag), instead of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screenings.
“Apart from that, they (specialists) also proposed to the government to expedite the process of regulation until immunisation has started as soon as the first vaccine arrives,” Anwar said in a statement today.
“Apart from prioritising high-risk groups, the government should also consider the provision of vaccines to migrant workers to protect our industries.”
The open letter dated December 7 and signed by 46 of the nation’s leading medical experts, also called for an end to the politicising of the pandemic. It urged Muhyiddin to form a Covid-19 task force that would help steer the nation out of the pandemic “by regularly presenting its recommendations and audit of the health economic impact of key decisions to the Cabinet.”
“A Covid-19 Task Force comprising a cross-sectoral and empowered team of subject matter experts must be immediately formed to provide evidence-based advice on a harmonised whole-of-government response across ministries and agencies,” the letter read.
“I believe their suggestions have a strong basis and the government should not ignore them,” Anwar said. – The Vibes, January 7, 2021
