The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and Delhi government to respond to the issue of shortage of medicine used for treating black fungus, which is affecting people recovering from COVID-19.
A Bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh asked the government to explain by Thursday the details of the stock of the medicine and if there was any bottleneck in its distribution.
Advocate Rakesh Malhotra, who has filed a petition on the management of COVID-19 pandemic in the Capital, raised the issue of shortage of medicine Amphotericin B which is used for treating Mucormycosis (black fungus).
Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi government, admitted that there is a shortage of the medicine and it is worse than the condition of Remdesivir and the State has requisitioned the drug from the Centre.
Mr. Mehra said a committee has been formed which meets twice a day but when there is no stock, they can’t give buffer stock.
The court asked both the governments to get details by Thursday, when the court hears the case again.
“This should not be the case of artificial shortage as it was being manufactured earlier,” the court said, adding, “nobody had anticipated that we will be hit so badly by the second wave”.
