Some Doctors Have Bought Covid 19 Vaccines Above Ceiling Price Aphm

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While the implementation of a ceiling price for the sale of Covid-19 vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm is a good move to promote vaccine equity, it may negatively impact the health industry, the Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia (APHM) says.
In a statement yesterday, APHM president Dr Kuljit Singh (above) urged the government to consider the financial implications of the ceiling price upon health practitioners who had already bought the vaccines in bulk at a higher cost.
“We are supportive of the government’s efforts to promote vaccine equity, which is imperative for the restoration of economic growth.
“While it is vital for the government to carry out its duties in the interest of the rakyat, we hope that the government also considers the financial implications of this policy to the industry, particularly for those practitioners who bought large amounts of stock at a higher rate at a very early stage and still have not completed the commercial vaccination exercise,” Kuljit said.
Ceiling prices take effect on Jan 15

Yesterday, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi announced that the maximum wholesale price for Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine is RM62 per dose. Its maximum retail price is RM77 per dose.
Meanwhile, the maximum wholesale price for Sinopharm’s Covilo vaccine is RM49 per dose. Its maximum retail price is RM61 per dose.
These ceiling prices will come into effect from tomorrow (Jan 15) onwards and will be enforced by the Health Ministry’s Pharmacy Enforcement Division.
Khairy and Alexander explained that price ceilings were needed to address the current “high and varied” prices of Covid-19 vaccines in the private market.
Kuljit added that while APHM supported the ceiling price policy of the government, they hoped that it was a temporary solution and implemented only in exceptional circumstances.
He said this was to avoid long-term precedents for unrestrained government intervention in the pricing of medical products. - Mkini

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