New Delhi

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing demand for Remdesivir, the Central government is taking steps to enhance the production of the drug which is likely to go up to 3 lakh vials per day in the first week of May.

Chemical and Fertiliser Ministry sources said that the production of Remdesivir injection has already been increased and Ministry is monitoring the availability of the Remdesivir in the market. "By the first week of May, the production of Remdesivir will go up to 3 lakh vials per day," it said.

Remdesivir is an antiviral drug used in the treatment of COVID-19.

"Government is making all efforts to provide Remdesivir in open market also to meet the present requirements and soon people will not have to wait for Remdesivir at the medical shops," Ministry sources added.

Due to the surge in the COVID-19 cases in the country, there has been a huge demand for Remdesivir. Over the past few weeks, several cases of hoarding and black-marketing of Remdesivir injections have also been reported.

Minister of State (MoS) for Chemical and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday chaired a meeting to explore the possibility of the production of oxygen in their plants, with fertiliser companies of the public sector, private sector as well as co-operative sector.

In the high-level meeting, it was decided that approximately 50 Metric Tons (MT) of medical oxygen per day can be made available for COVID patients by the fertilizer plants. These steps will augment the medical-grade oxygen supply to hospitals in the country in the coming days.