BENGALURU: The Karnataka government in a letter on Thursday sought for a stock of no less than two lakh vials of Remdesivir drug to meet the increasing demand for the drug to treat Covid-19 patients.
While the initial response from the centre was cold, the intervention of Bangalore (South) MP
Tejasvi Surya along with that Union finance minister
Nirmala Sitharaman and Union minister for chemicals and fertilizers, the centre relented by evening to provide 25,000 vials.
The drug, which is in short supply across the country, is considered to be a crucial medication to treat the Covid-19 patients.
Soon after the Karnataka government sent a letter to the centre on Thursday morning, the same appeared to be followed up by BJP MP Surya with finance minister Sitharaman.
In a tweet, Sitharaman confirmed this by saying: “Bengaluru (South) MP Tejasvi Surya spoke to me on the shortage of Remdesivir allocation to Karnataka. Today an additional stock will be given and in the next few days further stocks will be sent. Thanking DVSadanandGowda for the support.”
In a letter to the
department of health and family welfare, the Union joint secretary Navdeep Rinwa said the department of pharmaceuticals had considered the letter of Karnataka seeking two lakh vials and had decided to allocate additional 25,000 vials for the period till April 30.
The further allocations will be likely reviewed after April 30.