The capital city of Hanoi again registered the highest daily number of infections with 5,102 cases. Residents rushed to buy at -home rapid test kits for self-test. Covid-19 rapid test kit is a medical-biological product that must be licensed by a health agency; therefore, the item must have a clear indication of origin, but the trading of this item is very chaotic.
Traders in Phuong Mai Street in Hanoi, a medical and pharmaceutical equipment business area, offered people to buy test kits from Korea, China, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam at various prices.
At a store opposite the Central Geriatric Hospital, the owner introduced a Korean Biocredit test kit priced from VND80,000-VND85,000 a set, an increase of 20 percent compared to the selling price at the end of 2021.
The owner explained the price of this test kit increased because of lack of stock; moreover, it was licensed by the Ministry of Health and used a lot by medical facilities. Meanwhile, at the Hapulico drug market area, many shop assistants only sold a Biocredit test kit at the price of VND70,000 a set.
In Hanoi-based Ngoc Khanh pharmaceutical street, traders introduced imported test kits pricing from VND65,000-VND100,000 a piece depending on the origin and sensitivity of the product. Some store assistants proposed customers buy foreign ‘portable’ goods, selling in boxes of 50-100 kits at the price of VND1.2- VND3 million depending on the type.
Not only are nasal rapid antigen tests available in the market but recently, rapid saliva tests are also being offered for sale by many places, especially in groups on social networks on Facebook.
According to the advertisement, this type of saliva test is mainly made of Chinese and German products, with 98 percent accuracy. According to sellers, these new test kits are easy to use and not as annoying as a normal nose swab test; thereby, the price is also more expensive than the old ones. However, most saliva test kits have not been licensed by the Ministry of Health.
Customer Le Thi Thuy in Hanoi said that due to her job, she often had to travel to many places to trade and interact with many people; as a result, she has to buy test kits to test herself and family members every week. But the price of the test kit has fluctuated daily, even the same type, the price difference is tens of thousands of Vietnam dong.
The number of Covid-19 infection cases in Hanoi has increased continuously recently, causing worries amongst Hanoians who have been rushing to buy fever-reducing drugs, antibiotics, vitamins, throat rinses, nasal sprays, and throat lozenges, test kits for future use leading to an increase in prices of these items. In particular, some people spent money on hand-carried goods from Russia and China which contain the active ingredient Arbidol, Umifenovir and Areplivir with the active ingredient Favipiravir.
Pharmacist Ha Quang Tuyen, Dean of Pharmacy Department in Hanoi Medical University Hospital, warned Arbidol is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug licensed for use in the prevention and treatment of seasonal flu in China and Russia since 2006 while the drug Umifenovir was tested by China on Covid-19 patients at the early stages of the outbreak, but the effectiveness of Umifenovir against Covid-19 was inconsistent between studies.
Researchers have stopped carrying out studies on the use of Umifenovir due to low effectiveness or risk, with side effects much greater than effectiveness.
Pharmacist Ha Quang Tuyen confirmed that Arbidol and Areplivir were both officially unlicensed in Vietnam. The products sold on social networking sites are all of unknown origin with dubious quality standards.
From today Feb 21, according to the Ministry of Health’s Circular No. 02/2022, the price of the Covid-19 quick test is only from VND78,000 applied at state medical facilities nationwide.
Nevertheless, before the new price was applied, many medical facilities had offered different prices. For instance, Hanoi-based Hong Ngoc General Hospital is using two types of Covid-19 rapid test kits made by Vietnam and the US, priced at VND200,000 a sample for Vietnamese-made test kits and VND300,000 for the US-made ones.
Any patient wishing to undergo the RT-PCR test method will pay VND790,000 a sample. Those going to settle down in a foreign country must pay the cost of VND1,290,000 a sample.
Meanwhile, public hospitals such as Duc Giang, Viet Duc, Ha Dong charge Covid-19 test of VND100,000 a sample for a quick test and VND518,400 a sample for RT-PCR according to the Ministry of Health’s regulations.
