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| The price of oxygen cylinders on the black market has increased tenfold' |
Anusha Priya's father-in-law's condition was deteriorating
in Corona, but after much searching, she could not find a hospital bed for her
father-in-law in Delhi or its suburbs of Noida. They spent Sunday searching for
oxygen cylinders, but they did not succeed. Eventually, Anusha turned to the
black market. He paid 50,000 Indian rupees (approximately ً 670) to buy a
cylinder that costs 6,000 rupees on a normal day. On the other hand, Anusha's
mother-in-law was also having trouble breathing and Anusha knew that she might
not be able to buy another cylinder from the black market to keep her
mother-in-law breathing.
This story is not unique. What happened in Delhi and Noida,
these conditions can be seen in Lucknow, Allahabad, Indore and many cities in
India. People are trying to make temporary arrangements at home to save the
lives of their loved ones as hospitals are overcrowded. But the majority of
India's population does not have the financial resources to make temporary
health arrangements at home. There have been many reports that people have died
lying on the doors of hospitals because they could not afford the drugs or
oxygen available on the black market at exorbitant prices.
Conditions are worst in Delhi, where there is no intensive
care unit. Those who can afford it are seeking advice from nurses and doctors
through the internet for a fee so that their loved ones can breathe.
But the difficulty is at every turn, from blood tests to CT
scans or X-rays, laboratories are crowded and it takes three days to get the
test results. That is why doctors are not able to assess the severity of the
disease nor are they able to cure it.
Doctors say the delay is putting many lives at risk. I
myself know many patients who got beds but could not be admitted to the
hospital because they did not have a code test.
Anuj Tiwari has hired a nurse at home to treat his brother
as he has been denied admission from several hospitals. Some hospitals said he
did not have beds while others said he was short of oxygen. Because they are
not admitting more patients. The city's hospitals are under so much pressure
that they are publicly announcing how many hours of oxygen they have left. Then
the government moves, the cylinders are sent and the work goes on for some
time.
Seeing the condition of the hospitals, Tiwari bought an
oxygen generator at a very high price so that his brother could breathe. Tiwari
was also asked by doctors to administer antiviral drug remedies. But they did
not get the medicine. His brother's condition is deteriorating and doctors say
he may soon need a hospital where the medicine can be delivered. What can I do. I can't take them anywhere else
because I have already spent all my savings by visiting different hospitals.
There is no more money. "
He says the battle to save the lives of Corona patients has
now shifted from hospitals to homes, and that this is difficult because we do
not have access to oxygen.
Although there is a lot of demand for remedies, there is
also a shortage and many families are struggling to get it.
The BBC has spoken to many dealers who say the supply of the
drug is too short and that is why they are selling it at such a high price.
Across India, the government has allowed seven pharmaceutical companies to
manufacture remedicators and recently issued instructions to them to increase
production.
Not all claims of proper delivery of this drug by the
government have proved fruitful. Epidemiologist Dr Lalit Kant says the decision
to increase drug production was taken too late and that the government should
have been prepared for another possible wave of Corona.
"The drug is available on the black market, which
indicates the possibility that there is a leak in the supply system of the
drug, which regulators are failing to control," he said. I didn't learn
anything from Corona's first wave. '
Another drug that is in high demand is toxalzimab. This drug
is usually given to patients suffering from arthritis, but research has shown
that this drug is beneficial for patients with severe corona and prevents them
from going on ventilators.
Doctors are prescribing this medicine for patients who are
seriously ill. But even this drug has disappeared from the market. The Indian
company Supla, which imports and sells the drug, has found it difficult to meet
demand.
Usually a 400 mg bottle of this medicine is available for Rs
32,480 but Kamal Kumar whose father is ill has paid Rs 250,000 for a bottle of
this medicine. He said the price was staggering but he had no choice but to
take such an expensive drug.
Public health expert Anant Bhan says the government should
have produced the drug in larger quantities so that even those who cannot
afford to buy it on the black market can afford it.
Anant Bhan says: 'It shows that there was no plan, the
government has not been able to anticipate this wave. People are left to their
own devices.
Counterfeiting
Remediators are now one of the drugs being prescribed to
people with corona. Counterfeit drugs under this name are now being sold in the
market. When the BBC told a dealer that the drug it was selling was counterfeit
because the manufacturer had not been licensed to manufacture the drug in
India, the response was: 'It is 100% genuine. '
There are numerous spelling mistakes on the packaging of
this medicine but this dealer denied the statement of the BBC reporter and
asked that it be tested in any laboratory. The company that makes the remedies
is not even mentioned on the internet. But people are so compelled that they
are ready to buy such suspicious drugs and sometimes they have been deceived.
Consumers are sharing phone numbers of people who can provide everything from
oxygen to medicine, but not all such numbers are verified.
An IT worker who did not want to be named told the BBC he
wanted to buy an oxygen cylinder and a remediator. They found someone on
Twitter who was selling it. When he contacted the man, he was told that he
would have to submit an advance of Rs 10,000. In this hour of trouble, people
are ready to trust anyone, which is why the black market is flourishing.
Several state governments have promised to crack down on counterfeit remedial
sellers in the black market and some people have been arrested but the black
market business is running smoothly.
Mr Tiwari says people like him have no choice but to pay
more.
"It seems you can't be treated in a hospital and now
you can't save your loved ones at home."
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