Special counters for the sale of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug used for COVID-19 treatment, have been opened at the Coimbatore Medical College (CMC) at Peelamedu and the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College in Salem.
According to CMC dean A. Nirmala, a person can buy a maximum of six vials of Remdesivir upon producing a set of documents --RT-PCR test result, CT scan report of the patient, original prescription for the drug by the doctor who treats the patient, photocopies of the Aadhaar cards of the patient and the person who comes to buy the drug. One vial costs ₹ 1,568 and a pack of six vials costs ₹ 9,408. The counter will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on all days except Sundays.
In Salem, the sale of Remdesivir began on the premises of Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College near Steel Plant here on Saturday.
Dean R. Murugeshan said, “the sale would be handled by the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Limited (TNMSC) and we have provided only a team of doctors and pharmacists to verify the documents and provide the medicine. The counter would function from 10 a.m to 4 p.m on all days and police personnel have been posted to manage crowd. The place has been necessarily barricaded.”
He added that they had received 500 vials on Saturday and TNMSC had promised them continuous supply of stock. Dr. Murugeshan said that tokens would issued based on stock availability and a person can buy a maximum of six vials.
