NEW DELHI: All major pharmacy chains, hospital medical stores, Jan Aushadhi Kendras and Amrit pharmacy outlets across the country will remain open on May 20 despite the nationwide lockdown call issued by the All India Chemists and Pharmacists Organization against e-pharmacies, sources said on Tuesday.
This is in addition to several statewide pharmacy associations that have already chosen not to participate in the proposed nationwide strike, they said.
The move follows AIOCD representatives recently meeting with the national medicines regulator and raising concerns regarding the functioning and regulation of e-pharmacies.
The sources said the regulatory body assured them that the issues raised are under active review and that the regulatory framework governing the sector is under study to address the legitimate concerns of retail pharmacy stakeholders.
Retail pharmacy associations from West Bengal, Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Ladakh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand have given written assurances that they will not participate in the strike and have committed to ensuring uninterrupted availability of medicines to the public on the day of the proposed protest.
According to them, several retail pharmacy associations across the country have decided not to participate in the proposed one-day strike, due to public interest and the need to ensure uninterrupted availability of medicines.
The strike call was reportedly issued by the AIOCD in connection with concerns regarding the operation of e-pharmacies.
A source said: “Any disruption to the operation of pharmacy stores would cause serious inconvenience to patients, especially vulnerable groups who depend on regular access to life-saving and essential medicines, along with impacting vital medical supply chains.”
Realizing this, several retail pharmacy associations have reviewed the situation and expressed satisfaction with the constructive response of the regulatory body, the sources said.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
