Remdesivir injections and Favipiravir tablets vanish from UP's Prayagraj medicine shops

PRAYAGRAJ: The Remdesivir injection and Favipiravir tablets seem to have vanished from the city-based medicine market with buyers kept on taking rounds of chemist shops to get the medicines.
Traders at Leader road dealing wholesale medicine market claimed that there was an acute shortage of Remdesivir injection and Favipiravir tablets. Its shortage has also left them worried who kept on writing to concerned pharmaceutical companies to get it delivered at the earliest.
“It’s my second day of visiting the leader road wholesale medicine market but I failed to get the required favipiravir tablets for my uncle who was tested positive for Covid-19 infection” said Amit, a resident of Civil Lines adding “I had visited all medical and chemist shops but all in vein” he added. He also asserted that traders have pointed out acute shortage of the aforesaid drugs.
Prem Agrawal, Regional secretary, UP Chemist & Druggist Federation admitted to TOI that there has been an acute shortage of Remdesivir injection and Favipiravir tablets in markets and we have been demanding from concerned pharmaceutical companies for its proper and undistributed supply.
He further added that apart from these duo drugs, there has also been acute shortage of pulse oximeter as well.
The duo drugs are in great demand since the cases of Covid-19 increases in the city.
“ I have made calls to my relatives to arrange Remdesivir injection after seeing its acute crisis in city” said Ashutosh who arrived Leader road medicine market to get the injection but medicine dealers have expressed their helplessness for the same” he added.
Moreover, the demand for immunity booster drugs has gone up manifold in the market.
Nikhil Malang, organising secretary of Prayag chemist association ( retail) told TOI that there has been rising demand of ivermectin medicine, vitamin -c tablet, zinc tablet, as well as ayurvedic medicines like ashwagandha, giloy etc.
He also claimed the sale of disinfectants, sanitizers, and antiseptic has also gone up manifold.
Malang, however, claimed that we had earlier adequate stocks of Covid related drugs but when cases went down last year, we sent the orders back to concerned companies. Now, when the second wave of Covid-19 surge in the state, demand for coronavirus related drugs has once again gone up.