SAMARAHAN: The Sarawak government through the public health committee is working on the issue of different pricing of Covid-19 self-test kits in urban and rural areas.
Chairing the committee, Deputy Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government Michael Tiang Ming Tee said the higher prices were due to logistics costs.
“In town or urban areas, the supply (of Covid-19 self-test kits) is adequate. Whereas in rural areas, as you know, Sarawak always has this logistics issue as the land is vast.
“The price is different as we have to include the logistics costs to transport them to rural areas.
“We know that this is not healthy for Sarawakians. I myself chair the public health committee so we’re going to meet soon and discuss this matter so that rural Sarawakians have equal access to these test kits and not be burdened by higher costs,” he said after launching the Medical Devices Regulatory Endemic Phase roadshow at the Sarawak Heart Centre today.
He added that the state government would look into using government clinics in rural areas to supply Covid-19 self-test kits to ensure its sufficient supply and access.
“I have to remind the public to use Medical Device Authority (MDA) certified test kits, which is very important. Don’t get something cheaper but not certified.”
Earlier, Tiang said the MDA played a vital role during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic by conducting technical assessments of medical devices, before allowing them to hit the shelves. This included Covid-19 test kits and other critical devices used to curb the spread of the disease.
