Coronavirus: COVID-19 cases have been rising in India
The centre has mapped manufacturers of the anti-viral drug remdesivir with 19 states that have high Covid case burden. This will ensure smooth and fast delivery of the medicine, the centre said in a statement.
"Keeping in mind the sudden surge in demand in the country for remdesivir injection required for COVID-19 therapy, the manufacturing capacity of domestic remdesivir manufacturers has been ramped up," the centre said.
"All support is being extended to manufacturers by the government in this endeavour. The production capacity is being ramped up from current level of 38 lakh vials per month to 74 lakh vials per month, and 20 additional manufacturing sites have been approved. Export of remdesivir has also been prohibited in order to shore up domestic supplies," it said.
The Health Ministry and the Department of Pharmaceuticals have made an interim allocation of remdesivir for 19 states and Union Territories up to April 30.
Remdesivir being an investigational therapy drug is given in acute and severe versions of Covid where oxygen support is a must. "This allocation pertains to 14 states to which medical oxygen is allocated and five other states where the high volume of supplies are being observed," the centre said.
The remdesivir injection allocation for some of the states include Delhi (61,825), Gujarat (163,559), Maharashtra (269,218) and Uttar Pradesh (122,833).
"All states not covered by the (current) allocation will be considered for allocation when their supply orders are placed with the manufacturers," the centre said. "In case any state does not require or is unable to fully utilise its allocation before April 30, then that would be available for reallocation to other states as per their requirement," it said.
The surge in Covid cases in recent weeks have led to what is now being called a deadlier second wave of the pandemic. Social media is full of stories of desperate people trying to find oxygen or a hospital bed for their friends and family.
More and more people this time are complaining of breathlessness, which needs oxygen support. However, the supply of oxygen has become severely limited due to the sudden jump in demand across cities and towns.