Illustrative photo
Touring pharmacies in Ho Chi Minh City, test kits are the most sought-after item.
Large drugstore chains still maintain the same selling prices. For instance, Long Chau pharmacy system offers four types of quick tests namely Korean-made Humasis, Finland-made Salocor, French-made Todarpharma and Turkish-made Rapid.
The set of Humasis test kits has been sold at VND110,000 while Salocor has been priced at VND95,000 a set, Todarpharma VND90,000 a set, and Rapidfor VND85,000 a set. Anyone who buys 5, 10 sets or the whole box will enjoy wholesale prices.
Pharmacity drugstore chains have maintained the same selling price of the Humasis test kit at VND110,000 a set.
The Nhi Trung pharmacy in Hai Ba Trung Street in District 1 offered two kinds of rapid test kits including one using nasal swab samples and one type of saliva kit. Rapid test kits using nasal swab samples cost only from VND85,000 to VND95,000 a set while a saliva test kit costs VND80,000.
Store assistants of Long A Chau pharmacy in Hai Ba Trung Street in District 3 offered cheaper prices of test kits. For instance, a nasal swab test has the price of VND95,000 while a saliva test costs VND76,000 a set. In addition, quick test kits of all kinds such as Korea's Hometest, Wuhan 2-in-1 Test, Germany's Deepblue are also very easy to buy online.
The most popular is the Hummasis nasal fluid test kit, which is offered for sale ranging from VND85,000 to VND110,000 a set. Other types of nasal test kits have different prices from VND55,000 to VND60,000 and VND 75,000 a set depending on the brand. Saliva test kits are cheaper at the price of VND69,000 but if a customer buys the whole box of 25 sets, they just pay VND60,000 a set. Drugstore assistants offered the deepest discount on the German Deepblue kind which had been sold at VND140,000 at only VND70,000 a set.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy in Thu Duc City said that compared to a few weeks ago, at-home Covid test kits are not scarce any longer and the price of self-testing kits is now more stable; therefore, buyers needn’t buy the kit on social media with unreliable types.
In Hanoi, people's demand for Covid-19 test kits has decreased. Plus, many stores have also publicized the prices of test kit products and people can buy up to a box of 20-25 kits/box.
In order to quickly control the test kit market, responsible forces in many provinces and cities have strengthened inspection and control of the market and issued tougher penalties on violators. The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City requested relevant units to pay visits to business establishments to strictly handle violations such as speculation, price increase, trading in poor quality goods, quick test kits, and RT-PCR test.
The Ministry of Health also sent its dispatch to manufacturers and importers of medical equipment and Covid-19 test kits, requesting to ensure supply of the product. Simultaneously, the Ministry asked producers and importers to look for raw materials to make medical equipment for the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic.
Distributors and retailers have been prohibited to increase prices and sell to illegal individuals who will speculate to increase prices when domestic demand is high, causing market scarcity.
Many epidemiologists recommend that people do not buy test kits in large quantities to store in the family because this is not necessary.
People who come into contact with an infectious source need to be tested every 2-3 days because it takes a certain time for the virus to multiply in their cells. If a person has no clear symptoms, they should be tested on the fifth or seventh day after exposure.
The Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health yesterday sent an official dispatch to the health departments of the provinces and centrally-run cities on strengthening inspection of the purchase and sale of drugs to treat Covid-19.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Health requires medical units to coordinate with responsible agencies in provinces and cities such as steering committee 389, directorate of market surveillance staff, police, and other competent authorities have stepped up inspection to detect and prevent activities of buying and selling drugs to treat Covid-19 at illegal business establishments or on social networking platforms. Inspectors must throw a book at violators. If inspectors detect signs of criminal violations, they should promptly transfer them to police offices for further investigation.
