Patients of pvt hospitals can get remdesivir for free now

Tribune News Service
Patiala, April 5

The Health Department today said remdesivir, a costly drug prescribed by private hospitals, will be provided free of cost at government facilities.

A patient will have to show the prescription slip of the private hospital concerned to get the drug from any government facility, the department added.

Notably, remdesivir is an anti-viral drug that is used in treatment of coronavirus patients. It has come to the fore that remdesivir injection was being sold at private chemist shops for Rs3,000 to Rs5,000. Each serious Covid patient was given at least four to five doses of Remdesivir injection, said experts.

The Health Department said Covid patients admitted to private hospitals could avail of the life-saving drug from the Community Health Centre (CHC), Model Town, Patiala, by showing prescription slip of the private hospital concerned. In Rajpura town of the district, this facility would be provided at the Civil Hospital itself.

Remdesivir injection is already provided free of cost in the state-run hospitals.

The Patiala Civil Surgeon, Dr Satinder Singh, said, “Earlier, we had limited stock of the life saving vaccine. Therefore, we could not provide it to patients admitted in private hospitals. Now, we have enough stock of remdesivir injection. Therefore, we have extended this facility to patients of private hospitals too.”