State govts, local administrors should urgently revive med devices supply chain: MTaI

Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) on Friday urged thestate governments and local administrators to urgently restore the medical devices supply chain as the disruption is hampering war against COVID-19.

"The Central government has expeditiously moved through the Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary as well as through the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority and the Health Ministry to underscore the exemption of medical devices and equipment manufacturing, warehousing and distribution from the lockdown," MTaI Chairman Pavan Choudary said in a statement.

The Centre is a disseminator of directives, however, the implementation rests with state governments and local level administrators,he added.

"The latter it seems have not understood that this 21-day lockdown is to prepare the hospitals and are clamping down manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, of medical devices and equipment", Choudary said.

Transport trucks carrying these vital preparatory materials are stuck at city and state borders. The manufacturing and warehousing staffs, though armed with copies of the exemptions, are hitting a wall explaining to SHOs and local bodies that their products are needed in the hospitals and their units need to run, he added.

These companies are fully compliant with the lockdown but without their manufacturing units, warehouses, transporters and courier companies working, this closure will do nothing for the preparation of hospitals and healthcare system which it is meant for, Choudary said.

MTaI would like to reiterate that in the absence of a vaccine or proven drug, it is the medical devices industry that is shouldering the war against COVID-19, he added.

"We appeal the state government and local level administrators that medical devices supply chain be immediately resuscitated by issuing e-passes and facilitating medical devices movement between cargo-manufacturer-warehouse-distributor-hospital," Choudary said.