With home isolation of asymptomatic and mild cases becoming an acceptable practice among covid-19 positive persons in Odisha, the State Government has initiated steps to start Favipiravir therapy for patients in home isolation.
This was discussed in a high level meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy over digital mode from Lokseva Bhawan today wherein Additional Chief Secretary Health & Family Welfare, Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra outlined the technical and administrative contours of the therapy.
Listening to the doctors and experts Chief Secretary, Mr.Tripathy said, “Covid-19 is an evolving crisis. The new clinical input and empirical evidence about the pandemic has proved the effectiveness of Favipiravir treatment as an antiviral therapy.
It will save the patients in home isolation from getting serious. Many doctors and virus experts have posited that the medicine will be helpful in Covid management to a large extent”.
Chief Secretary warned that the medicine needs to be administered with proper advice and precaution. Further, Mr.Tripathy asked a team of experienced doctors to advise the patients in home isolation over audio visual media about this therapy.
The patients will take the therapy under advice and guidance of physicians. It was decided to start Favipiravir therapy for the patients in home isolation. Chief Secretary, Mr.Tripathy asked Health & Family Welfare department to widely circulate the SOP on use of oral Favipiravir among the doctors.
The department was asked to train members of rapid response teams ( RRTs) properly for assessing suitability of a patient in home isolation for the therapy. Sources say, as of now near about 80% of the positive patients are preferring home isolation. Additional Chief Secretary, Mr. Mohapatra advised that the members of RRTs should properly explain the patient and his/her care giver or family member about use of oral Favipiravir, its side effects, precautions and actions to be taken by them after initiation of the therapy.
The therapy would be started only after well informed consent of the patient. The RRTs would deliver medicine, detail information sheet, ‘Dos and Don’ts’ along with ‘how and whom to report reactions/progress about patient’s condition’ at door step of the patients in home isolation. On event of any major adverse reactions, the RRTs would coordinate shifting of the patient to appropriate covid care facility. Chief Secretary Sri Tripathy directed to keep regular contact with the patients in home isolation.
Secretary Information & Public Relations, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Secretary IT, Manoj Kumar Mishra, Dr Sampad Das, Dr Jayanta Panda, Dr CBK Mohanty along with senior officers, doctors and public health experts participated in the discussions.