Docs demand more Remdesivir counters to tackle black market

“Procuring Remdesivir is a daily headache for doctors at private hospitals. Pharma dealers are selling it above MRP rates; there is an immediate need to curb the black market,” said a government doctor at KMC. The cost and availability of the medicine would become normal once when the caseload reduces, the physician opined.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu branch of the Indian Medical Association has written to the State and central governments to increase the allotment of essential drugs like Remdesivir injection and low molecular weight heparin (lmwh), and increase the number of beds for COVID patients at hospitals and care centres.

In a statement, it demanded subsidy and tax relief for those setting up oxygen cylinders. The IMA office-bearers also urged the State government to increase the number of vaccination centres so that majority of the population were vaccinated within a short span reducing the hospital loads. The doctors’ association also demanded the Centre to ensure that the cost of vaccination was not increased beyond Rs 250.

When contacted, a senior official said that the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation has first implemented the model in Chennai. Noting that the counters at KMCH has received good patronage, the official said COVID drugs would be similarly sold at district headquarters hospitals in a phased manner.

The government cannot provide Remdesivir, which should be judiciously used only for the patients who require the medication, to all the patients, the official noted while admitting shortage of the medicine.