UP officials air-dashed to Ahmedabad by CM to bring 25k Remdesivir shots

Lucknow, April 14

A team of Uttar Pradesh government’s Health Department officials on Wednesday air-dashed to Ahmedabad and returned with 25,000 shots of Remdesivir injection, considered a key antiviral drug in the fight against COVID-19.

The officials were sent to Gujrat in a state plane in the morning on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s instruction and they returned to the state capital with the vital medicines by evening, an official said on Wednesday.

The consignment of Remdesivir voile has arrived in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, an official said, adding the chief minister had ordered 25,000 doses of the vaccine amid the spiralling cases of infection in the state.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, the chief minister’s office said in a tweet, “The CM has directed Health Department for urgent procurement of 25,000 Remdesivir from Ahmedabad. For this, directors and officials of the department are going to Ahemdabad on a state plane today itself.”   

Earlier on June 9 last year, Chief Minister Adityanath had sent a government aircraft to Goa to bring TruNet machines, the official said adding medical equipment were similarly brought from Bangalore on April 7.

The chief minister has also directed the Health Department to ensure that the vaccines are provided at prescribed market rates while ensuring that there is no shortage of other medicines.

The chief minister has asked the Health Department to ensure the availability of Remdesvir, Ivermectin, Paracetamol, Doxycycline, Azithromycin, Vitamin C, Zinc Tablet, Vitamine B Complex and Vitamin D3 in every district of the state.

At present, there is a sufficient amount of Remedicivir injection and its dose is being given to serious patients, the official said.

Amid an acute shortage of the medicine, the Centre has prohibited the export of Remdesivir and all Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) meant for producing it. PTI