12 May in 7:00 Deutsche Welle
As patients struggle to find available hospital beds, life-saving drugs and medical oxygen, a flourishing black market is fleecing hapless people across the country,
Deutsche Welle reports. When Anumeha Kumar, who works as a bank clerk in the southern city of Hyderabad, contracted the coronavirus and had to be admitted to a hospital for treatment of severe COVID symptoms, her family was forced to shell out almost 43,000 Indian rupees (€480/$585) to get hold of the antiviral drug remdesivir through the black market. We had no other option as she was in need of this and it was not available anywhere. All pharmacies said they had run out of stock and we tried everywhere, Pradeep, her brother, told DW.
This kind of pandemic profiteering has aggravated patient distress and even led to a loss of lives. People are taking desperate measures to try to keep loved ones alive. In some cases, they are turning to unproven medical treatment or otherwise to the black market for life-saving medications that are in short supply, Anil Bhan, a surgeon, told DW.
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