'Around 6,000 patients in Maha need the drugs even if not positive'

The Indian Medical Association IMA has appealed to the state government to amend the rules for the procurement and use of two drugs crucial in the treatment of COVID19 patients to include those who are symptomatic but their report is either inconclusive or false negative as they too need the medicinesEven as trials are underway there is a huge demand for tocilizumab and remdesivir in the state especially in the MMR as cases are rapidly rising The drugs are in short supply at hospitals but are sold at exorbitant rates on black marketThe ICMR has allowed the use of remdesivir and tocilizumab for critical patients PicistockThe state Food and Drug Administration had on Saturday restricted the use of remdesivir and tocilizumab for COVID19 positive patients only to crack down on the illegal sale of the medicines According to the guidelines hospitals have to submit a prescription COVID19 positive report and Aadhaar card of patients while procuring the two drugsIts a good step to stop the sale in the black market but the state government should also look into the shortage of supply As per the state figures there are around 1 lakh active cases out of which 20 per cent have breathing difficulty and need oxygen support and remdesivir Each patient needs six doses of the medicine and we arent getting these drugs anywhere said IMA President Dr Avinash BhondweHe added that the government should focus on increasing the supply of the medicines as the COVID19 cases are much higher in the state When the supply is enough the black market sale will automatically reduce There are symptomatic patients who are either waiting for their reports or have inconclusive or false negative results but they need the drugs too the IMA said in its letter to the chief minister the health minister and the FDA There are about 30 per cent of patients in these categories Around 6000 patients in the state need the drugs even if they havent tested positive for COVID19 So we appeal to the state government to supply these injections on hospital prescriptions declaration of admission and to remove the condition of COVID19 positive reports to procure the drugs said Dr Pankaj Bandarkar state secretary of IMAWe have been constantly raising the issue of symptomatic patients with a negative report They are still facing issues in getting a proper treatment Dont they need medicine and treatment on time How can we refuse the treatment If the condition is under control then why are there long queues outside remdesivir distributors asked Dr Deepak Baid president of the Association of Medical ConsultantsAs per the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR guidelines remdesivir should be used for critical patients only We dont think critical patients will have a negative report Thousands of positive patients need the medicines we should give them the priority said Arun Unhale commissioner of state FDA He added that for diagnosis there is an option of antigen testing that gives the result within a few minutes Also the pharmaceutical companies are asking for the documents not the FDA We have just given the instruction to follow the guidelines he saidCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news