Aadhaar made must for Covid -19 drugs in Maharashtra

Hoarding and black marketing of essentials in India have been at its highest amidst the ongoing COVID 19 outbreak. In the state of Maharashtra, several complaints have been raised by the people regarding the black marketing of hand sanitizers, face masks, vitamin supplements and experimental drugs used for the treatment COVID 19. Given below are some of the information on the experimental drugs that are currently being used to treat patients infected with COVID 19.

• The two main drugs administered on COVID 19 patients are Tocilizumab and Remdesivir.
• Tocilizumab is an anti-inflammatory drug.
• Remdesivir is an anti-viral drug.
• The FDA Minister for Maharashtra stated that the demand for these experimental drugs is really high now.
• This is due to the encouraging results as well as the increase in the number of COVID 19 patients.
• Strict measures are now being taken to ensure the restricted usage of these drugs.
• The companies that have the license have been asked to hasten the production of these drugs.

The New Criteria To Purchase The Experimental Drugs For COVID 19 In Maharashtra

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Maharashtra issued a circular on the 10th of July 2020 stating the new criteria to purchase Tocilizumab and Remdesivir, the experimental drugs for the treatment of patients infected with the COVID 19 virus. The relatives/family of the patient has to produce the following documents/information to purchase these medicines in Maharashtra.

• Aadhaar Card
• Consent form
• COVID positive lab test reports
• Doctor’s prescription
• Contact information

The complaints received regarding the shortage and black marketing of these COVID 19 experimental drugs have led the authorities to take this decision. A person can buy these medicines only after producing the Aadhaar card and the other required documents/information. This will help the officials to track the sale/usage of these drugs. This will also stop the hoarding and black marketing of these drugs.

Establishing Identity Through Aadhaar eKYC

In India, the Aadhaar is considered as one of the most important documents to prove the identity of the individual.

• Aadhaar based eKYC will help in establishing the identity of the patient. 
• This is done through Aadhaar authentication. 
• The details of the individual get submitted to the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), the Aadhaar issuing authority. 
• A confirmation will be sent if the details of the individual submitted matches with the details stored on their database. 

What Led To These Decisions?

The Home Minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh, held a meeting with the officials of the Mumbai Police and the officials of Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The state faced a severe shortage of Tocilizumab (Anti-inflammatory drug) and Remdesivir (Anti-viral drug) that are being administered to patients who have been tested positive for COVID 19. This was due to the hoarding and black marketing of these drugs.  The officials had received several complaints in this regard.

Based on the complaints received the FDA Minister for Maharashtra, Rajendra Shingne, conducted surprise inspections in several areas within in Mumbai. Investigations are also being conducted by the regulatory officials to trace out those hospitals that have been procuring these drugs directly from the manufacturers and hoarding it. The Home Minister has ordered the officials to take strict action against the people involved in black marketing of these drugs.

Establishing the identity of the individual through Aadhaar eKYC will ensure that the medicines are purchased exclusively for the treatment of COVID 19 infected patients.  This also means that individuals/institutions can no longer hoard/ black market these experimental drugs in Maharashtra.

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