Medicine frenzy for Fabiflu and Remdesivir ends in Bhopal

BHOPAL: Sharp decline in coronavirus cases in the city of late is finding an ample reflection in the sales at medical stores. There is no crowd with desperate faces at the counters any more , asking for similar drugs and equipment like nebuliser and finding them out of stock, going to another shop then and at times getting the desired medicine in the wholesale drugs market — Dawa Bazaar — or not getting medicines like Fabiflu or injections like Remdesivir even there.
“There was a crisis of some medicines and injections for some time but now, the situation is normal. The injection used for black fungus patients — Amphotericin (B) — is in short supply and that’s why it is being sold under the supervision of the state government, but the shortage will also end by Sunday as supplies are increasing and the patients are getting less in numbers. Remdesivir can now be bought across the counter from a medical shop on showing the prescription, Aadhaar card and positive corona report. Fabiflu is also easily available”, said president of Bhopal Chemists’ Association, Lalit Jain.
He, however, said that if demand for a medicine or an injection suddenly shoots up, there is obviously a shortage of that drug or injection for some time and of course some people suffer on that count.
Anmol Kushwala of Aggarwal Medical Store, however, said that one major reason for shortage of medicines like Fabiflu was its “hoarding” by people due to fear. “People bought five-six strips of Fabiflu when they needed only one strip. It was a course of 17 tablets with the power of the medicine progressively declining but people bought it in excess and it disappeared from the market. The same people are now coming to return the unused medicines. We don’t take it back, then they say you keep it and give it free of cost to a poor man, who may need it.”
Kushwaha and Arvind Dhakad of Dhakad Medical Store, further, said that doctors treating Coronavirus patients have not been consistent in their selection of medicines to treat the infection. “Fabiflu, which was selling like hot cake till the other day, is out of favour now. We don’t get prescriptions of Fabiflu any more”, they said.
Dhakad further said that “in demand” medicines now are those prescribed for diabetes and hypertension management. “People have become far more strict in regularly taking medicines for diabetes and hypertension ever since the outbreak of the pandemic and later black fungus and it’s showing in our sales”, said Dhakad.