PETALING JAYA: As the country prepares to enter the endemic phase of Covid-19 by end-October, community pharmacists are stepping up to help the government provide medical education to the people.

       Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) president Amrahi Buang said: “Community pharmacists give different kinds of care.

       “We are involved in all care levels – promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative. This is how we serve the community,” he said.

       As such, community pharmacists could help improve health literacy in the community.

       “After one and a half years of the pandemic, health literacy in the community is still lacking.

       “No one educates the people, so the government should look into community pharmacists as a channel to educate the public,” he said in an interview.

       Community pharmacists, he said, could also teach the B40 groups how to use items in their Covid-19 care packs, such as the self-test kits, the thermometers and pulse oximeters.

       On Sept 19, the government announced that 3.6 million B40 households are set to receive Covid-19 care packs, which would include reusable face masks, four self-test kits, a thermometer and pulse oximeter to help them prepare for life during the endemic phase.

       Community pharmacists could also help the government do pharmacovigilance by reporting Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI) from Covid-19 vaccines.

       Similarly, they are ready to lend a helping hand to inoculate the public after going through the relevant training, Amrahi added.

       Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia president Dr Raj Kumar Maharajah said community pharmacists could provide a crucial supportive role to doctors for the well-being of patients.

       The role of pharmacists, said Dr Raj, is to sell Medical Device Authority approved self-test Covid-19 kits.

       He said they could show the patients how to correctly do the test and dispose of the used kit.

       “They could also do some counselling and refer patients to general practitioners if they need further advice or testing,” he said.

       Meanwhile, he said, general practitioners have become one-stop centres during the pandemic.

       “We have consulted, examined, screened, vaccinated, done home monitoring and surveillance, functioned as a Covid assessment centre, and followed up with patients until they are given release orders,” he added.

       “On discharge, we have counselled them and their families.”