“As we transition to living with Covid-19, we will be adding new, innovative treatment options to our arsenal in addition to vaccines,” said health minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Twitter.

“I have already started negotiating for Malaysia to procure these effective drugs that have gone through clinical trials.”

Khairy attached a link to an article by news agency Reuters which said that the pill, which is being developed by the US-based Merck & Co and is known as molnupiravir, has been hailed as a “potential breakthrough” in the battle against the virus.

The article stated that if it gets authorised, the pill would be the first oral antiviral medication for Covid-19.

The pill has been designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus, according to the Reuters report.

Empty syringe for 12-year-old was ‘human error’

Separately, deputy health minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali today apologised after a 12-year-old boy was inoculated with an empty syringe while getting his Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday.

In the incident at the Universiti Malaya vaccination centre, the medical staff member on duty had mistakenly taken an empty syringe that had not been used instead of one that was earlier filled with the vaccine.

“CITF-A (Covid-19 immunisation task force-adolescent) regrets the incident and would like to apologise to the parents and the vaccine recipient. This incident was an on-duty mistake or human error,” he said in a statement today.

“After showing the syringe containing the vaccine, the staff briefly placed the syringe on the table to disinfect (the boy’s) arm before giving the injection.

“However, she mistakenly picked up an empty syringe to inject his arm,” added Azmi, who is also CITF-A chairman.

He said the staff member immediately informed the medical officer on duty at the vaccination centre.

After discussions with the boy’s parents, they allowed him to be vaccinated again on a different arm.