Private pharmacists in the State have urged the government to include them in the high-risk category of health workers and provide protective measures against possible COVID-19 transmission through contact.
Galileo George, member, Kerala State Pharmacy Council, pointed out on Wednesday that even ration dealers had been included in the high-risk category as they disbursed essential commodities to people during the pandemic. “However, pharmacists working in private medical shops, hospitals, and clinics were left out of its ambit though we too are in direct contact with different cross-sections of society. We too are at risk. Government pharmacists have their own insurance cover,” he said.
During the initial days of the lockdown, pharmacy stores were asked to operate between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Now, the working hours were between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mr. George, a former State general secretary of the Kerala Private Pharmacists’ Association (KPPA), said. KPPA has around 20,000 members.
“Some of these shops also provide home delivery of drugs. The Union government had recently come up with a health insurance package for those in the front line of the fight against COVID-19. But private pharmacists were not included in it,” he said.
Mr. George said that some of them had bought face masks and gloves on their own to ward off the threat of infection after the government urged the people to be careful. “But private pharmacists also need other security measures as we are in directly contact with patients and their relatives on a daily basis,” he added.
Coverage sought
Meanwhile, Medical Laboratory Owners’ Association has sought the inclusion of paramedical employees working in private clinical laboratories in the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19, which was recently announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman.
A memorandum has been sent to the Prime Minister through members of Parliament from the State and also directly to the Finance Minister and the Health Minister in this regard.
Anyone coming for medical tests could be a carrier of the virus, said C. Balachandran, State president of the association. “In case there is a community spread, paramedical staff in various laboratories will bear the brunt,” he added.