For representational purposes
INDORE: Indore in Madhya Pradesh has been facing a shortage of remdesivir injection used for treating coronavirus patients, with the authorities saying that as against the daily demand of 7,000 vials of the anti-viral drug in the district, they are getting less than half that number at present.
Pictures and videos of people thronging medicine shops in Indore to purchase remdesivir are going viral on social media.
Eyewitnesses said that a drug store located in Dava Bazar in the city had to down its shutters for some time as huge crowd gathered in front of the outlet.
Talking to PTI, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Abhay Bedekar said that scant supply of remdesivir injection by pharmaceutical companies has led to the problem.
"Currently, about 3,000 vials of remdesivir injections of different pharmaceutical companies are coming to Indore everyday, while its daily demand in the district is around 7,000 vials.
So, only half the supply is being met as against the actual demand," he said.
Meanwhile, speaking during a programme here, District Collector Manish Singh said, "As a result of rising cases of coronavirus infection in (neighbouring states) Maharashtra and Gujarat, the availability of remdesivir and oxygen has dropped in Indore.
We are trying to ensure sufficient availability of resources in the ongoing war against the pandemic."
There is a shortage of remdesivir and medical oxygen in Indore at a time when the district has been witnessing a spike in coronavirus cases.
In the last 24 hours, 866 new COVID-19 patients were found in the district, the highest single day spike, they said.
With this Indore's infection count rose to 74,895, of whom 981 patients have died.
