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The Maharashtra Medical Equipment Purchase Authority has been established to enable government purchases of medical equipment and medicines through a single body, Health Minister Tanaji Sawant said on Friday. The Health Department will also work to give a new lease of life to the state-run Haffkine Institute whose primary job is vaccine development and manufacturing, he said in a statement. A bill for the establishment of the authority was passed by both Houses of the state legislature in the ongoing Budget session. Until now every government department purchased necessary medical equipment and medicines separately, often at varying rates. Purchases of medicines, medical equipment, sonography machines, dialysis machines, ventilators, CT scan machines and furniture could be now made through this authority. Even the Union government and other states can make purchases through it. The authority will be chaired by the chief minister while the health minister, medical education minist
Leading medical refrigerator makers such as Godrej Appliances, Voltas and Blue Star are gearing up to cater to needs of Covid vaccine manufacturers by enhancing their cooling technologies in view of the requirement to store vaccines at ultra-low temperatures. Such refrigerator companies are also looking to ramp up their production capacity in anticipation of growing demand of new-age medical refrigerators that can preserve vaccines at a temperature of as low as minus 80 degrees celsius. Medical refrigerator manufacturers, which have witnessed a substantial jump in their business after India started the vaccination programme with Covishield and Covaxin, are now open to form tie-ups with the pharma companies that are importing coronavirus vaccines. Godrej & Boyce, part of over USD 4.1 billion Godrej Group and a leading maker of medical refrigerators in India, said it is quite open to collaborate with vaccine makers such as Pfizer, whose Covid vaccine is required to be kept at minus .
Amid a steep rise in coronavirus cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday undertook a comprehensive review to ensure adequate medical grade oxygen supply in the country and called for ramping up its production. With cases hitting a new peak in several parts of the country, the demand for medical oxygen has increased as it is a critical component in the treatment of COVID-19-affected patients. Prime Minister Modi took a comprehensive review to ensure adequate medical grade oxygen supply in the country, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement. Inputs from ministries like health, steel, road transport, and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) were also shared with the prime minister during the review, it said. Prime Minister Modi stressed that it is important to ensure synergy across ministries and state governments, the PMO said. He also took a detailed review of the current situation of oxygen supply and projected use in the coming