Yogi Adityanath directs UP health department to urgently acquire Remdesivir injections from Ahmedabad
Amid a shortage of Remdesivir in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the state health department to acquire 25,000 injections of Remdesivir from Gujarat's Ahmedabad on an urgent basis. The information was confirmed by the chief minister's office. Meanwhile, the Central government has clarified Remdesivir, not for home use and is only meant for patients who have been admitted to hospitals.
The Centre on Tuesday said doctors should ensure "rational and judicious" use of anti-viral drug Remdesivir, underlining it is to be given only to COVID-19 patients admitted in hospitals and is not to be used in home settings.
The Union health ministry in its 'Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19' has recommended the use of Remdesivir in patients in the moderate stages of the illness.
The drug has been included as an "investigational therapy" and recommended only for restricted emergency use purposes.
In view of the sudden spike in demand due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, India has also banned the export of Remdesivir and Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) till the situation improves.
To ensure easy access of hospitals and patients to Remdesivir, all domestic manufactures of Remdesivir have also been advised to display on their website, details of their stockists/distributors to facilitate access to the drug, the Union Health Ministry had said.
COVID-19 situation in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday reported the highest-ever single-day spike of 18,021 coronavirus cases and 85 deaths. With this, the state's infection tally stands at 7,23,582 and the death toll at 9,309. The state's previous biggest jump of 15,353 cases was recorded on April 11. "In the past 24 hours, 18,021 fresh cases were reported while 3,474 people were discharged during this period. There are 95,980 active cases while 6,18,293 were treated and discharged. The state has reported a total of 9,309 deaths since the start of the pandemic," Additional Chief Secretary of Health Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters.
Lucknow reported the highest number of fresh cases at 5,382, while Allahabad reported 1,856, Varanasi 1,404, Kanpur 1,271, Gorakhpur 602, according to a health bulletin issued.
Lucknow reported 18 deaths, Kanpur 10, Allahabad eight and Gautam Buddh Nagar four, the bulletin stated.
Over 80 lakh people have been administered COVID-19 vaccine shots in the state.
So far, 3.71 crore samples have been tested, with 2.18 lakh being tested on Monday, the bulletin said.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh minister Ashutosh Tandon have tested positive for COVID-19.
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