The government changed the allocation of Remdesivir vials to States for the second day in a row on Saturday, and said it would now arrange for 34.5 lakh doses in the period between April 21 and May 9.
The government had earlier allocated 16 lakh vials of Remdesivir for the 10 days from April 21 to 30. On Friday, it raised the same to 18 lakh vials over the April 21 to May 2 period and told The Hindu that the 16 lakh vials target had not been met due to issues with placing orders and transportation.
“To ensure adequate uninterrupted supply to the needy COVID-19 patients allocation of #Remdesivir for the States has been significantly increased,” Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said.
Under the new plan shared on Saturday, 70,000 vials will be reserved for central allocation (from 20,000 as per Friday’s allocation), leaving 33.8 lakh for the States and Union Territories. The plan has been firmed up by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry and the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Chemicals and Fertilizer Ministry.
As per calculations, this suggests that the average daily doses available for States and Union Territories over the 19-day period will be 1.77 lakh vials, compared to 1.48 lakh vials as per the plan released a day earlier. However, this increase may not be uniform across different States.
