Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government received Monday the first consignment of ‘Remdesivir’ and ‘Favipiravir’ medicines for treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Health and Family Welfare Department, PK Mohapatra said Remdesivir medicine will be used only in the treatment of moderate to severely ill COVID-19 patients.
“The Remdesivir medicines have been sent to all COVID-19 hospitals across Odisha,” informed Mohapatra. “The drugs will help reduce fatality rate (which is 0.39 per cent in Odisha). It is a nucleoside analogue pro-drug having inhibitory effects on pathogenic animal and human coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro,” he added.
The ACS Health and Family Welfare said it inhibits Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2 replication in animal models. “It (Remdesivir) is administered via injection into a vein of the patient,” informed Mohapatra.
Meanwhile, Odisha Drugs Controller Mamina Patnaik said, the state has also received 1,200 strips (each strip containing 34 tablets) of Fabi Flu (Favipiravir) tablets to cure patients with mild to moderate coronavirus.
“We will first send these tablets to COVID-19 hospitals for immediate use of the patients as a small consignment has so far been received,” said Patnaik. “The tablets will eventually be available for purchase in the market after they are received in larger numbers in subsequent phases,” she added.
“ This apart the state presently has a stock of two lakh tablets and two lakh injections of ‘Dexamethasone’.
Dexamethasone is used to treat conditions such as arthritis, blood/hormone/immune system disorders, allergic reactions, certain skin and eye conditions, breathing problems, certain bowel disorders, and certain cancers.
Mohapatra also rejected the possibility of Odisha facing a Delhi like situation in terms of hospital beds and ICU required for the COVID-19 patients. “Presently we have less than 1,900 patients while arrangement is in place for 22,340 isolation beds and 440 ICU beds,” he informed.
Mohapatra said this is not that only new cases are being detected every day, a large number of patients are also discharged after their recovery from the disease on a daily basis. He said the overall COVID bed occupancy remained within 25 per cent.
“Maximum number of patients requiring ventilators at any point of time in the state so far has been nine. Odisha already has 400 ventilators and another 100 will be procured soon.