Remdevisir too in short supply: Doctors

It is not just the shortage of the liquid oxygen, remdevisir shots too are in short supply in the government hospital. While the Karnataka government claims that "all is well", all doesn't seem to be too well in the state-run hospitals.

With a surge in the number of Covid cases the demand for remdevisir has gone up exponetially.

Doctors across the state, including ESI Hospital at Rajajinagar, General hospital at Jayanagar and Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital admitted that there is acute shortage of Remdevisir

A senior government doctor at ESI on the condition of anonymity told The Hans India that there is a huge shortage of remdevisir and sometimes 'we ask the patients' attendees to procure it'.

"The stock that was supplied to us was over in no time. We are in deseparate need of remdevisir but unfortunately the situation is horrible," he said. Dr Suryanarayan, Covid nodal officer from the ESI hospital said, "Yes, there is a huge demand and we havebrought it to the notice of the state government. The drug comes in 100 mg vials and a patient needs five course of the drug. On the first day we give 200 mg followed by 100 mg on the subsequent days."

Dean of Lady Curzon and Bowring Hospital Dr Manoj Kumar HV too admitted that the demand for the drug has soared but they are somehow managing.

"We have put our demand before the Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society (KSDLWS). The demand is huge, but the supplies are fewer," he said.

Meanwhile a patient's attendee said, "My brother was admitted to the ECI hospital. The hospital clearly said there is no stock and that it would take a day for them to procure the drug. But a 100 mg dose was to be given. The officer at KSDLWS told me that the supply form the company is inadequate. Somehow I managed to source it from the Victoria hospital."

Remdesivir is not available in the pharmacies, it can only be procured at the hospitals or the national helpline from where it can be procured. A volunteer, Nabeel associated with Nasih Educational Trust that sponsors free remdesivir to poor patients said, "I have never found patients from Apollo and Vikram hospitals moving around the hospital pharmacies to procure the antiviral drug.

In the past one month I have seen that patients from tier 2 cities like Raichur and Bijapur have to come to Bengaluru for treatment as the situation is bad there.

Moreover, in Bengaluru as well the first push as far as remdesivir is concerned is given to the big corporate hospitals who immediately put in indent their requirement of 7,000 vials which is given to them. The left over stock is distributed to smaller hospitals like Shifa, ESI and HBS," he revealed.