JOIN USAadhaar card must to procure Covid-19 drugs remdesivir, tocilizumab in Maharashtra: Report
Documents including Aadhar card, doctor’s prescription, consent form, a Covid-19 positive report and the contact details of the purchaser was made mandatory by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration to buy antiviral drug, Remdesivir, anti-inflammatory medicine Tocilizumab, reported Times of India.
FDA Minister Rajendra Shingne said that the decision was taken due to complaints of shortages and concerns about the experimental drug sold in black. “We have received information that people who do not need the drug are trying to purchase it and then selling it at an inflated rate,” the minister said. “These documents will now have to be produced by people buying it from druggists. This will help us track the sale and use of these drugs.”
Some doctors have opposed the move saying it will be harrowing for relatives of patients to acquire so many documents.
A regulatory authority is investigating if hospitals are hoarding after getting them from the manufacturers directly.
Shingne visited Masina Hospital in Byculla and a wholesale druggist store for surprise checks. The FDA official who accompanied him said they did not find any discrepancies.
Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with a total of 2,38,461 cases of which 95,943 are active as of July 10.