Amid unprecedented shortage of oxygen, life saving drugs, ventilators, and hospital beds, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of meetings on Monday to accelerate steps to apply brake to the massive surge in Covid cases.
The PM also separately interacted with top doctors and representatives of top pharmaceutical companies online.
Modi urged the leaders of pharmaceutical industry to conduct more researches on threats which can occur in the future along with Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the Centre will extend a credit line worth Rs 3,000 crore to Serum Institute of India and Rs 1,500 crore to Bharat Biotech to aide their Covid-19 vaccine programmes
Seeking cooperation of the pharma industry, he assured the Government is undertaking reforms for new drugs and regulatory processes.
Noting the second wave of the virus and rising number of cases, Prime Minister commended the pharma industry for their efforts to increase production of several necessary drugs. He appreciated them for reducing the price of injections like Remdesivir. To keep the supply of medicines and essential medical equipment going smoothly, Modi urged the pharma industry to ensure seamless supply chains. He also extended Government’s support for facilities like logistics and transportation.
In a virtual interaction with the country’s leading doctors on the pandemic situation and vaccination progress, he also noted that Covid-19 is spreading rapidly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities this time, and asked them to connect with their colleagues working there and give them online consultations to ensure that all protocols are followed correctly.
Urging doctors to educate people against “rumours” on Covid treatment and prevention, Modi said it is very important in these difficult times to not become a victim of panic, an official statement said. For this, Modi said, along with proper treatment, emphasis must also be on counselling of patients admitted in hospitals. He also encouraged doctors to use tele-medicine for the treatment of other diseases, in case there is no emergency.
The Central Government has recently taken many important decisions related to the supply of essential medicines, injections and sufficient availability of oxygen, he said, adding that States have been given necessary guidelines about these. Amid a massive surge in coronavirus cases across the country, some Chief Ministers have complained of a shortage of essentials like oxygen supply and medicines like Remdesivir, and sought the Centre’s intervention.
Modi said it was due to our doctors’ hard work and the nation’s strategy that India was able to control the infectious disease, and now that it is facing the second wave, all the doctors and our frontline workers are confronting the pandemic with full force and are saving the lives of millions of people.
He also called for accelerating efforts to upgrade resources in smaller cities. The statement said doctors shared their experiences in dealing with the pandemic and congratulated Modi on his leadership in dealing with the crisis. They also spoke about how they are augmenting the healthcare infrastructure and reiterated the importance of people wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. They also stressed the need for maintaining health infrastructure for non-Covid patients and said they have been sensitising patients against improper use of medicines, it said.
The meeting was also attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, his deputy Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Union Minister of Chemical and Fertilizer DV Sadananda Gowda, his deputy Mansukh Mandaviya, VK Paul Member of NITI Aayog, and senior bureaucrats.
