OREANDA-NEWS. As Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on November 24 at a meeting of the coordinating council of ombudsmen for human rights, at the moment the problem with the availability of drugs in pharmacy chains in the regions of the Russian Federation has practically been resolved.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that in September 2020, there was a failure in the drug labeling system. This decision on the labeling of drugs was made two years ago in order to restore order in the drug market, and this decision was not made during a pandemic. When the rampant demand began in pharmacies, such a planned work on labeling medicines became impossible, and therefore the government decided to label them on a notification basis. According to the information that we currently have from the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, this topic, as a possible restriction on the availability of drugs in pharmacies, has practically been removed.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the process is slowing down by the fact that, at the same time, a number of regions are rather slow in concluding contracts for the supply of drugs for outpatient provision.

Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov confirmed on November 24 that the Russian authorities had allowed the sale of drugs without waiting for the labeling confirmation.