Amid Shortage, Centre Hikes Allocation Of Remdesivir Injections To 19 States; Maharashtra Gets Maximum

Maharashtra - by far the worst affected - has again been allotted the lion’s share of 4,35,000 does as against the 2,69,200 vials earlier.

Antiviral drug Remdesivir

While Covid cases in the country continue to surpass the world records, the nation gasps for breath amid an acute shortage of oxygen and antiviral drug Remdesivir which is used for the virus’s treatment.

Keeping in view of the situation, the central government has increased the allocation of the injections to 19 States/UTs till April 30.

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers D V Sadananda Gowda late on Saturday made the announcement and tweeted the latest list.

According to the list shared by the Union Minister, Maharashtra-the worst affected state by the pandemic has got the highest share of 4,35,000 does as against the 2,69,200 vials earlier. It was followed by Gujarat with the second-highest allocation of 1,65,000 doses against the 1,63,500 earlier, Uttar Pradesh will now get 1,61,000 doses, up from 1,22,800 vials. Madhya Pradesh is being granted 95,000 doses now instead of the 92,400 vials and badly hit Delhi has been given around 10,000 extra vials to tide over the crunch.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray thanked Prime Minister Modi for approving the supply requested by the state government.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Gowda for increasing the allocation of Remdesivir and oxygen to the State.

Several states and UTs have reported an acute shortage of Remdesivir and raised the issue with the Centre.

The Centre had on Wednesday announced that the production capacity of Remdesivir injections is being ramped up from the current level of 38 lakh vials per month to 74 lakh vials per month. It also said that 20 additional manufacturing sites have been approved.