Spike In COVID-19 Cases, Triggers Scarcity Of Drugs In The Market

Acting Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices of the Ministry of Health, Arianti Anaya. (Photo: ANTARA/Andi Firdaus).

JAKARTA - A number of obstacles in the distribution of COVID-19 therapeutic drugs to various public health service facilities still occur. This difficulty was acknowledged by the Acting Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices of the Ministry of Health, Arianti Anaya.

"Indeed, this is a spike in cases that the last two weeks were beyond our predictions, initially before Eid 2021 seemed stable, and now the spike in cases is even bigger than last year or in February 2021," he said at a press conference. Virtually monitored from Jakarta, Saturday afternoon.

Another thing that affects the supply of COVID-19 therapeutic drugs is the limited availability of raw materials in the country. This condition causes producers to continue to rely on imported finished products.

"There are several products such as Remdesivir, Tocilizumab, these are still imported from various countries such as India, Bangladesh, China and Germany. Actually, for medicines such as Oseltamivir, Azythromycin, our vitamins are already produced domestically," he said.

Questions arose from journalists as to whether these drug distribution barriers were also affected by the drug mafia, causing scarcity and high prices in the market.

"We cannot say that it (drug mafia) exists or does not exist, but if we see that the stock of this drug is quite large, of course we will continue to monitor the industry or pharmaceutical wholesalers (PBF) not to hoard these drugs. because if we calculate from needs compared to stock, it should still be enough," he said.

Another obstacle, according to Arianti, is the production slowdown which was influenced by a number of pharmaceutical industry employees who were confirmed to have COVID-19.

"We also know that the current condition of the industry is limited, there are also some staff who have been confirmed positive for COVID-19. That is also an obstacle. But we continue to strive for distribution as soon as possible," he said.

Arianti ensured that the government was trying its best to increase the production and distribution of available medicines in the midst of a very high spike in cases.

Based on the mapping of drug needs carried out by the Ministry of Health, he said, the limited number of COVID-19 therapeutic drugs was in the red zone, so it was necessary to encourage pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesalers to prioritize their distribution to these locations.

"In the case of non-compliance with pharmacies or sales of COVID-19 drugs that exceed the government's price, the Ministry of Health has cooperated with law enforcement officials who will follow up on non-compliance with regulations issued by the government," he said.

Arianti added that the increasing need for therapeutic drugs for COVID-19 patients also prompted requests for additional budgets from the government.

"With the current spike in cases, it is not impossible that there will be an additional budget for the purchase of medicines that must be provided by the Ministry of Health for buffer stock and to serve patients who are isoman," he said.