New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS): There was no shortage of drugs to treat swine flu which has claimed 965 lives so far across the country this year, union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said Friday.

A total of 965 people have died due to swine flu this season but there is no need to panic, he said in the Lok Sabha.

The minister said there was no shortage of medicines to treat swine flu affected people and it is available in government hospitals and dispensaries free of cost.

"We had made arrangements for doctors, medicines, testing facilities, isolation wards in November with the active support of the state governments," he said.

Nadda, however, said that there was a need for more labs to test for the virus.

He said the swine flu symptoms like mild fever and cough are very common but medicines must be taken immediately once the disease is suspected, without waiting for the test results.

He said even if a person takes swine flu vaccine, it is not foolproof and personal protection measures like a mask and cleanliness have to be taken.