Ahmedabad: With the Covid-19 cases plummeting steeply across the state and remaining in double digit for the past few months, the sales of drugs — favipiravir and remdesivir — used in the treatment of Covid-19 have also plunged drastically. Vitamins, sanitizers and immunity boosters’ sales too have dropped in line with the reduction in Covid cases.
The sales of remdesivir across the state have declined to 1,680 vials in so far in October as against the record sale of 3.49 lakh injections in April. The antiviral drug’s monthly sales skyrocketed above 1 lakh vials during March to May, when the fierce second wave of the pandemic gripped the state and the entire nation. The remdesivir sales in October are the lowest after June 2020, shows data compiled by the Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration.
“The sales of remdesivir and favipiravir have dropped to negligible levels, which is inline with the sharp reduction in cases of Covid-19 across the state,” said Dr HG Koshia, commissioner, FDCA-Gujarat.
The sales of Covid drugs have been steadily decreasing since June 2021, according to state FDCA compiled data. “With more vaccination, cases have surely gone down. People are now more confident after vaccination and therefore, consumption of immunity boosters has reduced. As long as people wear masks in public places, things may remain under control,” said Dr Bharat Gadhvi, president, Ahmedabad Hospitals’ & Nursing homes’ Association (AHNA).
“The sale of preventive and immunity-boosting medicines has completely taken a back seat. While mask sales continue, demand for sanitizers has drastically dropped too. People are getting complacent with the situation and therefore, spending on Covid-related medicines has reduced drastically. This trend has been observed since July this year,” said Ankur Aggarwal, founder, MedKart.
