Surprised That COVID-19 Therapeutic Drugs Are Missing In The Market, Sufmi Dasco Suspects Hoarding

JAKARTA - Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, is surprised that COVID-19 therapeutic drugs are becoming scarce in the market. This was known after President Joko Widodo conducted a sudden inspection of pharmacies in Bogor City, West Java.

In fact, said Dasco, the drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 that President Jokowi is looking for are mostly pharmaceutical SOE products. Such as Oseltamivir produced by Indofarma, then Favipiravir, and Azithromycin produced by Kimia Farma.

"I wonder why the current COVID-19 therapeutic drugs seem to have disappeared from the market", said Dasco in Jakarta, Monday, July 26.

Moreover, the Chairman of the House of Representatives in the field of Corrections revealed that during a meeting between Commission VI some time ago, the President Director of the Pharmaceutical SOE confirmed that the drugs for COVID-19 therapy had been produced beyond their production capacity. This is an effort to meet the supply of drugs during this pandemic.

Therefore, the chairman of the House of Representatives' COVID-19 Countermeasures Task Force asked government officials and the police to investigate the disappearance of the COVID-19 therapeutic drugs.

The daily chairman of the Gerindra Party reminded that there should not be hoarding of drugs for COVID-19 therapy by certain parties.

"I ask the government and the police to investigate the disappearance of these drugs. There should be no suspicion of hoarding COVID-19 therapeutic drugs, because of the public's panic about the current pandemic", concluded Dasco.

Previously, in a video circulating, President Jokowi went to a pharmacy without strict security. There are only two security forces attached to Jokowi.

Then, Jokowi approached the pharmacy cashier to order medicine. He reads a piece of paper with the names of the COVID-19 therapeutic drugs on it. "I want this, what, I want to find an antiviral drug that is Oseltamivir", said Jokowi.

"Oseltamivir is empty, sir", said a female cashier welcoming Jokowi.

"Then where do I look, if you want to find it?", Jokowi said.

The woman said Oseltamivir was getting rare. The pharmacy has been struggling to find Oseltamivir in recent times.