The military is doing an important job by being present on the streets and at critical points. In the photo, members of the Parachute Brigade on patrol in Alcorcón.
SINCE the very beginning
of the crisis, the Military
Pharmaceutical Centre has
turned to the manufacture of
hydroalcoholic gel for hand
disinfection, paracetamol
to combat the symptoms of
the disease and ribavirin,
a broad-spectrum antiviral
used against hepatitis C
and which could work in
the fight against SARS-CoV-
2. Its activity increased
On-call pharmacy
from March 23rd, when
it also began work on a
coronavirus-inactivation
solution, at the request of
the National Biotechnology
Centre of the CNIC (National Centre for Cardiovascular
Research). This was done to avoid potential material
shortages in the National Health System and to guarantee
the availability of products whose use had increased
significantly, both in the healthcare environment and in
private homes.
The Military Pharmaceutical Centre has increased
its production.
To meet this challenge, the centre has increased
its regular staff of 100 by 25% and workers have been
organised into shifts. For the head of the centre, Colonel
Antonio Juberías, the
main concern is to avoid
contagion. “A laboratory
technician is hard to find”,
he told El País newspaper.
In this centre, located in the
Madrid town of Colmenar
Viejo, production has not
stopped for one moment.
When this pandemic is
over, we will learn exactly
how many paracetamol
tablets, litres of disinfectant
or ribavirin ampoules
have been produced at its
facilities. “At the present
time it is complicated
to talk about an exact
IGESAN (Inspectorate-General for Defence Health)
manufacturing capacity, I would not venture to give any
kind of figure”, said Colonel Juberías to COPE radio station.
The medicines are made available to the authorities “and
they are the ones who determine where they have to be
distributed”, the colonel explained.
This is not the first time that the Military Pharmaceutical
Centre has collaborated in a health crisis. In 2006, during
the influenza A epidemic, they encapsulated the H1N1
antivirals.
April 2020 Revista Española de Defensa 15
Pepe Díaz