Uttar Pradesh is experiencing a severe shortage of Viral Transport Medium (VTM), a reagent used for Covid-19 testing.

According to data from the state health and family welfare department, the divisional warehouses of the UP Medical Supplies Corporation had roughly three lakh units of VTM on Thursday morning. In UP, Covid-19 samples are tested on a daily average of 60,000 times, with occasional spikes reaching 1.25 lakh. A stock of around three lakh units is unlikely to last more than 4-5 days in such conditions.

In absence of VTM, both antigen and RT PCR tests cannot be performed as the sample would become contaminated the moment it was exposed to air. Without VTM, sample transportation is also not possible. Data showed that the VTM stock is nil in the divisions of Aligarh, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj, with less than 1,000 units in the divisions of Kanpur and Agra.

The supply is less than 2,000 units in Gorakhpur and Meerut, while it is roughly 8,000 units in the Varanasi division, which sees a lot of pilgrims and tourists. The warehouse in the Lucknow division comprises 24,000 units, which will be further divided into six districts. Saharanpur (56,800) and Azamgarh (50,000) divisions have the most stock. 

A health official claimed that although internal data show that the corporation possesses over 50 lakh units of RT PCR testing kits, they are useless without the reagent. A purchase order for VTM was made three months ago, but the deal was eventually terminated a fortnight ago due to delays. The UP government, which has received praise from numerous national and international organizations for its Covid-19 management, now faces a severe crisis. (Times of India, Sep 2, 2022)