From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Updated
Bengaluru, May 16: Centre has allocated 4.25 lac vials of Remdesivir anti-viral injections this week from May 17 to 23, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda has said in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The Union Minister, who is also handling the Pharmaceutical ministry, said Centre has allocated a total 23 lac vials of Remdesivir injections to different States from May 17 to 23, of which the allotment to Karnataka is highest than other States.
Gowda, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, has mentioned that the higher allocation of the Remdesivir anti-viral injections to the State was based on the larger number of active Covid infection cases in the State.
Karnataka has been allocated 10 vials of the Remdesivir anti-viral injections from April 21 till now out of the total allocation of 76 lac vials of the Remdesivir injections to all the States.
The allocation of Remdesivir anti-viral injections to different States in lac is as follows: Maharashtra 3.35, Tamil Nadu 1.45, Andhra Pradesh 1.4, Uttar Pradesh 1.3, Rajasthan 1.28 and Gujarat 91,000.
The allocation to other States is based on their active Covid infection cases, he explained.
The Union Minister explained that the country was receiving donations and aids from foreign countries in the form of medicines, oxygen cylinders, ventilators and such other things, of which 40,000 vials of Remdesivir is also included.
The Narendra Modi government is distributing all medicines or oxygen to all States in an equitable and transparent manner. The medicines received as donations and aid from foreign countries cannot be used for all Covid patients and the doctors will decide who should get and what kind of medicine, Gowda said advising people not to hoard medicines in their homes as it will deny the medicines to people who are in real need.
He asked the State Governments to take necessary steps to prevent hoarding or blackmarketing of the essential drugs.
The Union Minister said the Centre was constantly monitoring the supply of all medicines forming part of the Covid protocol and has created a separate helpline with Number 1800111244 and email: monitoring-nppa@gov.in.
He disclosed that there were 767 complaints during the second half of April while the number of complaints was barely 147 during the first two weeks of this month, indicating that the Covid protocol for distribution of medicines was returning to normalcy.
The Union Minister visited the Covid Care Centres and Vaccination centres in the Bengaluru North Parlimamentary Constituency represented by him.