SRIKAKULAM: There seems to be an acute shortage of vitamin C tablets at drugstores in the district. Due to Covid-19, the tablets are disappearing from the shelves with the drug promising to boost the much-needed immunity in times of the pandemic.
As people have been buying the immunity boosting medicines following the social media campaign, almost all the medical stores in the district ran out of stock of vitamin tablets and Vapour Drops. Even the Vapourisers are out of stock in the medical stores in the district. As a result, the Covid-19 patients are unable to get the immunity boosting medicines in the market.
A revenue official from Sompeta mandal contracted the virus from his colleague, while discharging his duties about a week ago. Following the advice of the doctor, he is in home isolation. “I could not get Vitamin C and D, multivitamin tablets and Vapour Drops in any medical store in the town. My friends and close relatives had visited almost all the shops in Sompeta, but their efforts went in vain,” he said.
Following the complaints from the public over shortage of vitamin tablets in the medical stores in Srikakulam, TNIE conducted a survey on Tuesday by visiting several medical stores at Surya Mahal Junction, Day and Night Junction, PSNM School Junction, Rythu Bazar Junction and Vinayaka Temple Junction in Srikakulam town seeking Vitamin C and D tablets, multivitamin tablets and Vapour Drops. It was found that none of the medical stores in the said areas had the stock of immunity boosting tablets.
“We did not get the supply of Vitamin C and other multivitamin tablets from the wholesalers,” said Ramya, in-charge of Jan Aushadhi pharmacy shop being run by Indian Red Cross Society. “We did not get the stock of Vapour Drops and Vaporisers also,” she added.
People bought multivitamin tablets and other immunity boosting medicines in bulk to boost their immunity levels to fight the coronavirus, said Ramana of Mahalaxmi Pharmacy at Rama Laxman Road. He said that they did not get sufficient stock of medicines from wholesalers.
When contacted, Srikakulam drug control department additional director Naga Kiran admitted that there is an acute shortage of Vitamin C tablets not only in the district but also in the State. He said that low production of Vitamin C tablets by a few companies did not meet the huge demand in the market. Though the immunity boosting medicines and Vapour Drops are available with the wholesalers, they are flying off the shelves as people are buying them in bulk. He said that the Vitamin C tablets would be available in the market in two days.