Andhra Pradesh received 82,000 vials of remdesivir injections in the second phase. In the first phase, the state was allocated 60,000 vials, Drug Control Administration (DCA) officials said.
“The remdesivir inventory has been allocated for the period between May 1st and May 9th. So far, the center has allocated 1.42 lakh vials of remdesivir to the state during the second wave of the pandemic,” said DCA Director General (DG) S. Ravi Shankar Narayan.
With the incidents of abuse and black marketing of remdesivir injections, the state government is delivering the stocks to the reported COVID hospitals and monitoring the stocks of remdesivir and oxygen in various hospitals.
Mr. Ravi Shankar Narayan related The Hindu that remdesivir injections were allocated based on the indents submitted by hospital administrations for their daily needs. All measures are being taken to prevent Remdesivir from being sold illegally. Special teams have been set up in all districts to investigate bottle abuse, he said.
“The teams, made up of officials from the DCA, Vigilance and Enforcement and Health Department, visited several hospitals in Visakhapatnam, Prakasam, Nellore, Guntur, and other districts. They checked the case sheets, the inventory and interacted with the caregivers of the patients who were in treatment, ”said Ravi Shankar.
Director General of Vigilance and Enforcement KV Rajendranath Reddy said raids had been carried out on COVID hospitals across the state due to complaints.
“Cases were registered under Sections 188 and 120 of the IPC and Section 51 of the Civil Protection Act after some irregularities were discovered in some hospitals. We want to make it easier to provide remdesivir to patients in need and prevent black marketing without bothering anyone, ”said Reddy.