Maharashtra: Mega scare as 90 suffer Remdesivir side-effects, brand suspended

Sparking a mega health scare at least 90 Covid19 patients in Maharashtras Raigad district who were administered Remdesivir doses of a particular brand developed severe sideeffects following which the state government has imposed a temporary suspension on its use here FDA Minister Rajendra Shingane saidThe incident took place on Thursday in around three hospitals in the district The patients who were administered Remdesivir manufactured by the company Hetero Drugs had complained of sideeffects Shingane told IANSThe shocking incident came to light when some patients developed chills drop in blood pressure fall in SPU count varying degrees of fever or other health issues in various hospitalsReleasing a videostatement Raigad Collector Nidhi Choudhari said that following complaints from patients in different hospitals the district health authorities acted on them immediatelyOn Wednesday we had received around 510 vials of Remdesivir whch were distributed among various hospitals for the patients After the complaints of patients developing several sideeffects we acted immediately and stopped the use of all the doses said ChoudhariThe situation is under control and the condition of all the patients is stable now There is no cause for worry the Collector assuredA district official said that out of a particular Hetero batch of its Rendesivir brand Covifor injection 130 patients were given the doses out of which a staggering 90 reported the sideeffects shaking the alreadystressed local medical authoritiesOn learning of the matter the FDA authorities in Mumbai immediately suspended the administration of Covifor and recalled its batches till the full details of the incident are examined by the concerned medical authoritiesChoudhari said that the district authorities also ordered all medicos not to administer the particular injection to any patient and to withdraw the remaining stocks of the injection from all the hospitals they were distributed toThe Collector reiterated the Centres and WHOs past assertions that Remdesivir is not a lifesaver drug as is the general perception and it is used in a specific manner during the Covid19 treatment protocolsWhile local activists like Vaishali Patil demanded a statement from the government other medical experts opined that the incident poses a question mark on the alleged miraclecure reputation of Remdesivir injections which are in huge demand all over India with people even shelling out huge amounts to procure it from the black marketEarlier this month following a plea by a Mumbai barrister Vinod Tiwari the Centre had brought all the brands of Remdesivir under Drug Price Control Order which slashed the MRP of different brands averaging to Rs 2450 per injectionIn his petition to the Centre Tiwari had alleged a massive scam of over Rs 25000crore through haphazard MRPs being charged by the medical distribution chain exploiting lakhs of desperate customers anxious to get a Remdesivir dose hoarding by unscrupulous elements to create an artificial shortage and demanded a probe by Central Vigilance CommissionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever