The All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AICOD), a national level organisation of 9.40 lakh chemists in India, may anytime join the lockdown to protect and save the lives of its members as they were sidelined while considering vaccination priority, stated a release signed by president IS Shinde and general secretary Rajiv Singhal.  Chemists and medicines distributors were on 24x7x365 on duty as essential services to patients from March 2020, it stated.

Despite all the dangers posed before them, every chemist in the country has been continuously providing services to the suffering citizens of the country, the release stated. Dispensing and distribution of medicines is nothing less important than the duties of doctors, nurses, hospital staff and sanitization workers, it mentioned.

It was logical to vaccinate frontline workers but in spite of repeated appeals chemists were sidelined for no reason, it further stated, adding since March 2020 till date, more than 650 chemists and pharmacists have lost their lives due to Covid infection. The Chemists and Pharmacist and their staff are most vulnerable to infection as they closely interact with patients at shop counters, it added.

The association also pointed out that the government has taken control of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab injections which were transferred through AICOD members but they were not given access to the said drugs when required. The next drug expected to go under government control and disappeared from the market is Amphotericin B, it stated.

“Since we are ‘Jan Swasthya Rakshak Chemists’, we want to maintain the availability of medicines during this crucial corona period. Also, we had not resorted to any strike or lock down till today. But we do not want to put our members at risk now and therefore, we demand to be vaccinated on priority or chemists will join regular lockdowns followed by other trade members,” it added.