Increased Demand, Government Secures COVID-19 Drug Supply

The government is gradually increasing the supply of medicines for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. At least eight types of medicines will have their supplies increased by the end of July 2021.

Currently, the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) is calculating the needs based on the severity level and the quantity of medicine required for one treatment cycle per patient over 10 days.

According to Kemenkes data, the total stock of multivitamins is the highest. By the end of July 2021, the total stock is estimated to reach 65.24 million treatment packages. Meanwhile, the estimated need for multivitamins is 17.15 million packages.

This needs calculation is based on the proportion of severity levels and the amount of medicine needed for one treatment cycle per patient, averaging 10 days.

Furthermore, the total stock of Azithromycin is predicted to be 11.21 million packages, while the estimated need is 1.5 million packages.

Remdesivir, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), and tocilizumab (Actemra) are highly sought-after Covid-19 treatment drugs. The estimated need for Remdesivir is 1.65 million packages, IVIg is 1.2 million packages, and tocilizumab is 60,162 packages.

The government can only supply Remdesivir, IVIg, and tocilizumab below the demand until the end of July 2021. This is because all three must be imported from several countries, such as China, India, and Bangladesh.