Pharma App ‘CPAP’ helps detect 1,495 Covid cases in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: Pharma app ‘CPAP’ has helped the state government to locate 1,495 Covid-19 positive cases from those visiting pharmacies to get medicines for fever, cold, cough, body pains and co-morbidities in the last six months.

After the state health authorities re-launched and upgraded the app as the previous one had developed technical issues, officials directed all pharmacies to collect details of those who purchase medicines with Covid symptoms and upload them along with the name and contact details of the person. Such information will be communicated to the concerned medical officers, who will personally visit such patients. If they find severe symptoms, such persons will be advised to go for Covid-19 test.

As many as 25,956 pharmacies uploaded information of 15,70,298 persons showing symptoms and purchasing medicines in the last six months. Of the 9,24,910 samples that were collected and sent for Covid-19 test,  1,495 persons were found infected with the virus.

Around



five persons tested Covid-19 positive recently and 2,861 persons’ samples are in the process of testing for Coronavirus.

Meanwhile, though the pharmacists admit that the app is coming in handy, they are facing trouble from people who are even entering into arguments for feeding their details.

On the other hand, the pharmacists are not keeping certain medical emergency drugs like cocktail drugs as they find them to be highly expensive and manufacturers are not releasing stock unless the amount is paid. Officials apprehend that this may cause concerns as coronavirus variants-Delta and Omicron, are spreading rapidly.

A senior official from the drug control administration said "We are ensuring all pharmacists upload details of people purchasing medicines for certain symptoms in the pharma app to track them. We also appeal to the state government to procure emergency drugs like cocktail drugs on its own and keep them ready for use as pharmacists are unable to get them from the manufacturers."