Senior doctors and infectious disease experts have mentioned that the current government recommendations of making Oseltamivir tablets freely available at government hospitals could lead to over-prescription, waste of public money, and possible drug resistance in the long run.

Tamil Nadu alone had piled over 20 lakh tablets of Oseltamivir due to the increasing incidence of swine flu. The drug control directorate had advised all pharmacies in the state to have a minimum stock of the medicine and the hospitals has been advised by the health department to follow the protocol recommended by the Union ministry. However, experts now say that there is no strong evidence that the drug or vaccine reduced complications or mortality based on recent reports published in international journals. Dr. Jacob John, a senior virologist mentioned that while the country licensed the vaccine there is no protocol on who should use it. 

Information for the article was sourced from Times of India. Read the original here.