Chaos Prevails at Chennai Stadium as Hundreds Throng to Buy Remdesivir, Some in Queue Since Midnight

Hundreds of people on Saturday thronged outside Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for Remdesivir, the anti-viral drug being used in Covid treatment.

A sea of people gathered to buy Remdesivir outside the stadium in Chennai tossing away Covid precautions on the first day of distribution. The distribution of which is controlled by the government, a report in India Today said.

The rush for procuring Remdesivir comes as doctors have pressed for the judicious use of the drug underscoring that unnecessary use of the drug can cause more harm than good. AIIMS doctors on Saturday said that Covid-19 patients on home care should not take Remdesivir medication and they should get admitted at a hospital if the oxygen level drops below 94.

30-year-old Sandeep Raj said he has been trying to get Remdesivir for the past ten days. His parents were tested positive for Covid and doctors had prescribed Remdesivir for both of them. But, Sandeep lost his father and he had rushed to the stadium to get Remdesivir for his mother to save her.

“My father is gone. I have kept his body in my house and have come here to buy medicine for my mother. I have been trying to get it for the past 10 days. I even have a token, but now there are so many others here. It’s difficult to differentiate between those who have a token and those who don’t. I don’t know what to do. It is a terrible situation,” Sandeep reportedly said.

Reports said that desperate relatives and family members of patients started gathering near the stadium since Friday night. The crowd swelled on Saturday morning as a section of the crowd managed to reach the counter and collected the drug but a large number of people were unable to get it and were frustrated.

Muthamizh Azhagan, who too had come to the Stadium to get Remdesivir, said he had been waiting since 1 am for his turn.

“My father, mother and brother are Covid-19 positive. My father and brother urgently need Remdesivir. My mother is on dialysis and is home quarantined. The distribution of Remdesivir needs to be better organised,” Muthamizh Azhagan reportedly said.

Tamil Nadu is getting 7,000 Remdesivir injections every day. But the state government is demanding that the daily allocation should be increased to 20,000 injections daily.

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