Dr. Vijay Pandit starts free medicine bank for COVID-19 Patients
12 June 2021: Dr. Vijay Pandit of Meerut, UP has been hailed by members of the screen printing industry and beyond that as well as a role model worth emulating. Plaudits have been rolling in for his topical and much-required initiative of having started a medicine bank where people are able to gain access to COVID-19 medicines absolutely free of cost. The initiative was implemented after the family members themselves had recovered from COVID-19 during October 2020.
Dr. Pandit recalls being hospitalised and undergoing treatment for over 12 days, 10 of which he was on high-flow oxygen support. His father RP Sharma, mother Prema Sharma and son Madhur also underwent hospitalisation whereas his wife Punam and other son Armaan were able to recover with home isolation.
Once his family members were all recovered from COVID-19, he noted that many of the expensive medicines and injections remained unused. When they tried to return the same to the hospital and get the amount refunded, the authorities declined to do so.
When the second wave struck, Dr. Pandit and his family saw how families of COVID-19 patients were enduring difficulties due to the shortage of medicines. Deciding to extend support to these needy people, he connected with his relatives and announced a free medicine bank for everyone. In addition to providing medication free of cost, they also provided medical masks, sanitisers, and gloves.
What had begun as one family’s efforts to avoid wastage of medicines by giving away the leftover doses, gradually evolved and soon transformed into a full-fledged medicine bank with many similar minded contributors joining the initiative and sharing medical supplies. Enthused by the success of this initiative, Dr. Pandit is contemplating extending its horizons further. He has visualised providing free of cost medicines for other illnesses also.
Dr. Pandit is a leading environmentalist who takes up social causes and promotes literature as well. He has been associated with many screen printing manufacturers as Marketing Director for North India and Nepal since over two decades. He has played a key role in promoting ‘Screen Print India’ in Northern India and conferred with numerous national and International awards.
