DCA Vizag clarifies on claims of expired Remdesivir vials being used

Drugs Control Administration (DCA) Vizag has rubbished the claim on expired Remdesivir injections being administered and has sought the approval of the Drugs Control General of India (DCGI) to clarify.

A post suggesting that Remdesivir injections that expired in March 2021 were being administered to patients in the Narsipatnam area Hospital has been doing the rounds. The DCA Visakhapatnam, on acknowledging this message that was being circulated in the print and electronic media groups, immediately rose to the issue to subdue the confusion.

In this context, it is being clarified that Remdesivir injection is a new drug, and the Drugs Control General of India (DCGI) had initially given instructions to the manufacturer to fix shelf life and expiry date as 6 months. This was based on the stability studies submitted earlier by the manufacturer. Later, the stability studies were continued, and as per new stability studies submitted by the manufacturer, the DCGI has given permission to the manufacturer to extend the shelf life and expiry date up to 12 months.

This swift action by the DCA Vizag on the issue has cleared the air on the expiry date of Remdesivir and has paved the way to continue vaccination. The DCA officials have also released the DCGI approval statement to prove that utmost diligence was being maintained to ensure misinformation was not being spread.

Various such incidents of unverified and speculative messages have been circulating on social, press and electronic media. The district officials have welcomed constructive criticism and but promised harsh penalties on misleading information creators.

District Vaccination report:

With an initiative to vaccinate everyone at the earliest, Visakhapatnam district officials are putting their best into this endeavour. Yesterday, a total of 28,164 people were vaccinated. With a total of 27,645 individuals receiving the first dose and 519 received the second dose. While 16,436 received Covaxin, 11,728 received Covishield.