In the wake of rising Covid-19 cases again in the State, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has instructed chemist associations in the State to not dispense medicines specific to cold, cough, and fever to anyone without a valid prescription. Keeping the decision in mind, the chemist association of Nagpur is also following the order. Many medical stores also started keeping a record of phone numbers and addresses of customers who buy such medicines for surveillance.

 

If a patient looks for cough syrup, paracetamol, crocin or a cold antibiotic, the chemist shop would practically not sell it and counsel him to visit a doctor at the earliest. Due to this step taken by the chemist association, many citizens are complaining shortage of Paracetamol, Crocin and Calpol tablets in the market. “There is no shortage of medicine in the market. We have enough stock of all medicines specific to cold, cough and fever. We are just following the instructions of MMC,” said Sunil Ganeshani, a city chemist to The Hitavada.

 

“If someone is buying paracetamol as a painkiller, we would sell it. Chemists cannot do any surveillance on whether he is buying it for a fever patient. So that is kept out of the question. But, we are trying to be as safe as it can be,” said another Chemist Rajesh Lakhe. However, many medicine stores in the city are still selling cough and cold pills without any enquiry and prescription to customers. When asked, pharmacists said that there was no official instruction from the government not to sell paracetamol over the counter.