Khairy said the provision of Paxlovid to patients in private health facilities is free. However, patients are still subject to consultation fees and other related charges determined by the private health facility.

“Private clinics or hospitals that are interested to get Paxlovid must obtain the supply from identified health facilities that store the medicines,” he told a press conference.

The Pfizer-produced drug has been used by all government hospitals to treat Categories 2 and 3 patients with mild to average symptoms since April 15. Chronic illness patients are prioritised for the treatment.

As of June 5, 1,364 patients had recovered with no side effects detected.

Khairy said the treatment had been proven to be safe and effective in reducing the effects of Covid-19 infection and patients’ mortality rate.

Pfizer recently reported that Paxlovid was effective against the elderly and high-risk group, but appeared to be less effective for average-risk adults.

Commenting on the resumption of the Covid-19 immunisation programme for children (PICKids) for five days from June 20, Khairy said 397 children were vaccinated on the first day of the campaign. About 150 of them had just turned five years old.

Khairy said the response from senior citizens and high-risk groups to the second dose of Covid-19 booster vaccine has also been encouraging.

He said the total uptake for the second booster dose was 107,884 as of June 20, of which 57,834 were senior citizens.

On the shortages of several over-the-counter medications, he said the health ministry had been monitoring the shortages based on active ingredients and products reported by facilities and industry.

The ministry had also conducted random checks on seven private hospitals, 10 private health clinics and 30 community pharmacies over the matter.

About 85% of the 47 facilities reported having shortages for at least one medicine, he said, adding that it mostly involved cough, cold and fever medications as well as antibiotics for children.

He said a list of products facing shortages as well as alternative products had been shared with the relevant associations and will be updated from time to time.

Khairy also said the government has not made any payments to MySJ Sdn Bhd for the MySejahtera application. He said the health ministry had only recently received the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) approval to initiate price negotiations.

“The results of these negotiations will be submitted to the finance ministry and then to the Cabinet to be finalised,” he said.