Coronavirus pandemic | Aadhaar card, COVID-19 test results mandatory to buy remdisivir in Maharashtra

To deal with all these problems amid the ongoing health crisis, the Minister for Food and Drugs Administration, Rajendra Shingne, announced that: “Only COVID-19 positive patients with doctor’s prescription, Aadhaar card, and a phone number only they can get the medicines. There is no need to panic. If anyone is charging extra for these medicines, please contact the government helpline, we will take action.”

Remdesivir, which is essentially an anti-viral drug, has proven very effective in treating coronavirus patients and was recently cleared for “restricted emergency use” in the country, to be administered only to very serious COVID-19 patients.

The drug is priced around Rs 5,000 per 100 mg vial but is being black sold in the black market for four to five times the price. The Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) has already raised concerns over the remdesivir black marketing issue and has directed all states to keep “strict vigil” to ensure the drug is not sold above the maximum retail price.

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