Centre Building 30-day Buffer Stock of Life-saving Covid Drugs as India Braces for Imminent 3rd Wave

With the country bracing for an imminent third wave of Covid-19, the Centre has geared up to build a 30-day buffer stock or inventory of essential Covid-19 medicines like Remdesivir and Favipiravir.

Apart from the life-saving drugs, the government is also restocking common drugs and supplements like paracetamol, antibiotics, and vitamins, the Business Standard reported.

“The Centre is planning to procure 5 million vials of remdesivir ahead of the third wave. What’s better is that this time, the government is paying us in advance,” the report quoted a source.

A leading scientist at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday predicted that the third wave of COVID-19 would arrive in India around the end of August, with about 1 lakh cases each day.

Professor Samiran Panda, speaking about the severity of the third wave, said that if the virus does not further mutate, the scenario will be similar to the first wave, according to a report by India Today. However, if it does mutate, things might get a lot worse.

Professor Panda is the director of the ICMR’s epidemiology and communicable diseases division.

While the third wave may not be as devastating as the second wave in India, Panda believes that a low vaccination rate and loosening of restrictions may result in an increase in cases. The Imperial College London and the ICMR collaborated on mathematical modelling to arrive at this conclusion.

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