Fadnavis flags Remdesivir shortage in Maharashtra, seeks relief for poor COVID-19 patients

Amid the novel coronavirus crisis, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Friday alleged that there is a huge shortage of Remdesivir in the state. The Ministry of Health has approved its restricted emergency use on COVID-19 patients with moderate disease. Mentioning that the state was registering nearly 20,000 cases and 450 deaths per day, Fadnavis stressed the need to ensure adequate stock of this antiviral drug. Contesting the state government's stand, he contended that poor patients in several districts were facing tremendous problems owing to the non-availability of Remdesivir.

Moreover, he claimed that more poor novel coronavirus patients were dying as they were unable to buy this drug from the chemist. The Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly also highlighted that black marketing of Remdesivir is on the rise. He called upon the state government to ensure that it is given to poor patients for free in both the government as well as private hospitals. In a letter, Fadnavis urged Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to take appropriate steps in this regard to save the lives of poor patients. 

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On September 26, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had issued a circular calling for the judicious use of Remdesivir during COVID-19 treatment. While mentioning that the Drugs Controller General of India had allowed Indian companies to manufacture and distribute this drug, he cautioned against using it on every walk-in patient. Tope added that the Food and Distribution Administration shall ensure the strict monitoring of Remdesivir supply coming into the districts. 

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COVID-19 crisis in Maharashtra

Maharashtra saw a drop in daily COVID-19 cases with 16,476 persons testing positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday, October 1. This has propelled the state's COVID-19 tally to 14,00,922. At present, there are 2,59,006 active cases in the state. With 16,104 COVID-19 patients discharged in the day, the number of recovered soared to 11,04,426. 394 deaths were reported on Thursday. 

Until now, a total of 37,056 persons have died owing to COVID-19. So far, 68,75,451 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in labs operational across the state. While 21,74,651 persons are under home quarantine, 28,720 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. The COVID-19 positivity rate, recovery rate, and fatality rate in Maharashtra stands at 20.38%, 78.84%, and 2.65% respectively. 

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