Malaysia’s Ministry of Health previously announced that it will be purchasing the Paxlovid COVID-19 antiviral drugs from Pfizer. The Director General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has announced that the first shipment of the drugs have arrived. On Twitter, Noor Hisham said that 48000 stocks of the antiviral drug have arrived at Pharmaniaga Logistics Sdn Bhd.
Continuing in the series of tweets, Dr. Noor Hisham explains that Paxlovid is recommended as the treatment for COVID-19 patents aged 18 and above who are at high risk of developing severe symptoms but don’t need oxygen therapy. It is to be administered immediately after being tested positive for the virus and within five days of symptoms showing up for optimal effectiveness.
Alhamdulillah, 48,000 stok ubat PAXLOVID (PF-07321332/Nirmatrelvir 150mg Film-Coated Tablets & Ritonavir 100mg Film-Coated Tablets) telah selamat sampai di Pharmaniaga Logistic Sdn Bhd. pic.twitter.com/7MqF0cLY48
— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) April 11, 2022
The treatment itself involves taking orally three pills – one white ritonavir pill and two pink normatrelvir pills – at a time. This is to be done twice a day for five days. This means a total of 30 pills by the end of the five-day course. He emphasises that it’s not a substitute for getting vaccinated against the virus. Side effects of using Paxlovid include muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhorea, high blood pressure and changes in the sense of taste.
Last month, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said that the government will receive 110000 courses of the Paxlovid drug. The ministry is also looking into getting treatments from Merck and AstraZeneca.
(Source: Noor Hisham Abdullah / Twitter)
