In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak in the region, the Uttar Pradesh government has launched a major initiative to assist people in combating the lethal COVID-19 virus – the Remdesivir drug will now be given free of charge to patients throughout the province.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has declared that COVID-19 patients admitted to government and private hospitals in the state will get free Remdesivir injections.
The injections will be arranged by the state government for government-run hospitals; however, private hospitals will have to purchase Remdesivir from corporations and the industry itself.
If Remdesivir is not available in a private hospital and is required for the patient’s survival, the District Magistrate (DM) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) would be required to have the injection, according to the government.
CM Yogi Adityanath also ordered that sufficient Remdesivir vials be made available to different districts based on demand. Remdesivir should be issued at a fixed price to private hospitals if necessary.
The Centre has also expanded Uttar Pradesh’s Remdesivir injection limit until April 30 to 1,61,000 vials. So far, the state has received 1,22,000 vials of the drug.
Meanwhile, the chief minister has warned that those found to be complicit in COVID medicine hoarding and black marketing would face prosecution under the National Security Act (NSA).
According to the latest guidelines provided by the state government, if there is a lack of beds in government hospitals, COVID-19 patients will be treated at a private hospital for which the government will offer complete reimbursement.
“COVID monitoring and treatment costs are set by the state government. If any lawsuits are filed against hospitals for charging higher rates, the Epidemic Act will be used to take strict action against them “Was also added.
“The COVID hospitals have been ordered to officially declare the number of empty beds twice a day,” it states. “The COVID-19 affected patients who are in home isolation will be given a COVID package that will contain antibiotics for seven days,” according to the release.
Among other things, the government has decided that no payments would be charged for cremating people who died as a result of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the government of Uttar Pradesh has set an order for one crore doses of the covid-19 vaccine. To ensure sufficient doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are available in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has requested 50 lakh doses of Covishield and Covaxin from manufacturing firms. Serum Institute of India manufactures Covishield, and Bharat Biotech Limited manufactures Covaxin.
In a tweet, the UP government said that, in accordance with the Centre’s order, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath intends to distribute the vaccine across the state in a systematic manner.
