Chaos in the test strip market and concerns about uncontrolled waste

Although test strips (also known as SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests) are medical supplies that must be licensed for circulation by the Ministry of Health, recently, in addition to being sold at medical supply stores, this item has been sold widely on social networking sites, with many different prices, making people feel really confused.

A test strip sales fair was set up on Facebook. Photo: Tien Dong

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, due to her job, she often has to go out, go to the market and come into contact with crowded places, so Ms. Ngo Ngoc Anh (living in Truong Thi ward) went to the pharmacy to buy a box of test strips.Covid-19 rapid testHowever, what she felt concerned about was that the same type of Covid-19 rapid test strip, which she bought at a pharmacy the day before for 75,000 VND/set, was sold the next day by someone for just over 50,000 VND/set, and some even sold it for 40,000 VND/set.

"I don't know which one is real and which one is fake" - Ms. Anh said.

Currently, almost every pharmacy and medical supply store sells Covid-19 test strips. Photo: Tien Dong

Ms. Tran Thi Ha (teacher, residing in Quang Trung ward) is even more careful when buying many types of test strips to use, including Chinese, Korean and French ones.

Ms. Ha said: "When I went to the pharmacy to buy, they also advised me which type to buy and how sensitive it was. However, when I got home, I saw that they were selling many other types online. There was even a teacher at school who advertised the type ordered from abroad, and the price was cheaper than the type bought at the pharmacy, so I bought more. Actually, I don't know if it's accurate or not."

Ms. Ha said that the day after Tet, seeing the number of cases was so high, after each day of school, she asked her family to swab her nose for testing.

Currently, many types of test strips are licensed for circulation, making people feel lost in a matrix of test strips. Photo: Tien Dong

Due to the increased demand for test strips, almost every drug and medical supply store imports test strips and masks to sell. Many social media users also post ads to sell test strips.

From officials, workers, civil servants, online sellers, to teachers, even people who specialize in selling vegetables, fruits, and food also sell test strips.

People go to buy test strips. Photo: Tien Dong

However, the worrying thing is that when performing Covid-19 tests at medical facilities, the materials used for the test after being completed are all classified and put into specialized bags and destroyed. However, when performing rapid tests at home, how these tools are handled is important.

Ms. H (residing in Ben Thuy ward), just recovered.Covid-19When asked how she had handled the test strips and supplies during her illness, she was quite surprised by the issue we mentioned. Ms. H did not even remember how she had thrown away the trash on the first day the test result was positive.

The most worrying thing now is that many people buy test strips to take home, and when they discover they have Covid-19, they then throw away the waste and samples with household waste. Photo: Tien Dong

It can be seen that allowing rapid testing and treatment of Covid at home is a policy suitable for the current situation. Although the epidemic is breaking out, because people have been vaccinated with the second and third doses, the disease is not too severe, and many people can recover within 5-7 days.

According to many medical experts, it is inevitable that people are worried about buying test strips themselves, but it is important to choose to buy quality test strips, and at the same time, it is necessary to handle waste carefully and strictly to avoid the SARS-CoV-2 virus from spreading to the surrounding environment.

On December 28, 2021, the Ministry of Health issued an official dispatch allowing localities and units to use rapid antigen test results to identify Covid-19 cases. After the rapid test is completed, all used testing materials are considered infectious waste and must be collected and disposed of in accordance with regulations. Waste is collected in a yellow bag, the bag's mouth is tightly tied, and the bag's mouth is tightly tied. These bags must be labeled "Waste at risk of containing SARS-CoV-2", placed in a fixed place and notified to local authorities for collection and disposal in accordance with regulations for infectious waste. Used testing materials must not be mixed with regular household waste.