At the meeting of the HCMC City Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control yesterday
Specifically, the Department of Health must review the procurement process, procedures, quality, price, legal status in accordance with the present regulations with a focus on prices of on-going testings and medical services at health care facilities using rapid antigen diagnostic tests and molecular RT-PCR to identify Covid-19.
At the same time, inspectors should pay irregular visits to facilities for the implementation of regulations on the price of rapid testing and RT-PCR testing services as well as the production, import, and trading of biological products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medicinal materials, traditional medicine, equipment, medical supplies, chemicals, antibacterial preparations for the prevention of Covid-19 epidemic
The Department of Health must also report and propose to the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to impose punishment on administrative violators according to the present regulations. Inspectors necessarily report to the municipal People's Committee about criminal violations and transfer the file to the city police force for further investigation.
At the meeting of the HCMC City Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control on the afternoon of December 20, Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control in Ho Chi Minh City (HCDC) Nguyen Hong Tam said that HCDC has not bought and used test kits of Viet A Technology Company.
During the time HCDC held a tender to buy and sell medical supplies and equipment, Viet A Company came to offer but the price was too high, so HCDC refused.
Regarding the allowance for frontline volunteers participating in the fight against the epidemic, Chief of the Office of the Health Department in HCMC Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai said that according to the current regulations, these people are eligible for receiving VND250,000 a person a day.
Currently, the Department of Health has proposed to increase the monthly allowance to VND4,420,000 a person which departments, agencies, and sectors advocated.
Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control in Ho Chi Minh City (HCDC) Nguyen Hong Tam
However, according to Decree 163, the wage and allowance regime must wait for the approval of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, according to Ms. Huynh Mai. Currently, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has sent a document to collect comments from the above-mentioned ministries.
From July 2, 2021, the Ministry of Health has updated publicly the selling price of biological products at VND470,000 a test kit for an order of under 500,000 test kits and VND367,500 a test kit for an order of 500,000 to under 1,000,000 test kits.
On the basis of the proposal, the Department of Health coordinated with relevant agencies to submit to Da Nang City People's Committee for approval the contractor selection plan for three bidding packages with a total of 200,000 test kits at the price of VND367,500 each test kit.
Also yesterday, Director of the Department of Health in the Mekong Delta Province of Long An Huynh Minh Phuc said that CDC Long An, General Hospital Long An, Hau Nghia Regional General Hospital and Can Giuoc Regional General Hospital have bought test kits of Viet A Company so far.
Currently, the Department of Health has asked these four units to report the details of the purchase, the number of test kits of Viet A Company, the purchase price to the Provincial People's Committee.
On the same day, the People's Committee in Long An Province said that it had requested all health care establish to review procurement of supplies, biological products, medical equipment for the Covid-19 prevention and control in 2021, especially testing kits and products.
A representative of the Hanoi Department of Health also had revealed this case. The Hanoi Department of Health confirmed that in 2021, the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC) did not buy a Covid-19 test kit from Viet A Company. In 2020, CDC Hanoi received a number of test kits produced by Viet A Company from donors through the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Hanoi.
