3~5 yuan
After analysis by relevant professionals, the cost of a kit is about 3~5 yuan, and the reason for such a high charge is that there will be certain costs in transportation, equipment depreciation, labor, etc., so the cost of a nucleic acid kit is controlled at about 10~15 yuan.
Before the outbreak in early 2020, nucleic acid testing was a highly technical "niche" test that could only be carried out in a few large hospitals and third-party laboratories, and some of the hospitals themselves were not equipped to meet the requirements for nucleic acid testing.
To meet the need for large-scale nucleic acid testing, building and renovating laboratories and purchasing instruments and equipment have become a priority for hospitals. According to an interview with Health Times, Director Li Yirong, director of the Department of Medical Laboratory Medicine at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, said, "The current cost of nucleic acid testing includes labor costs, testing costs such as instrument reagents and consumables, and management costs of hospitals, of which nucleic acid testing reagents are one of the major costs."
August 22, 2022, Yunnan Province, a centralized drug purchasing platform issued a notice showing that the winning enterprise Shengxiang Biological take the initiative to apply for the four winning new crown nucleic acid test kit prices down to as low as 3.6 yuan per person. This has been since April, Yunnan Province, centralized drug purchasing platform issued the 19th new crown test reagents and consumables winning products to take the initiative to apply for price adjustment notice.
In addition to Yunnan, Guangdong, Liaoning and other places have also recently issued a number of new crown test reagents and supporting consumables price reduction notice, after the price adjustment, the new crown virus nucleic acid test kits and consumables of the government procurement price has been as low as 3-5 yuan per person.
Which, Guangdong Province, following the May 26 implementation of the new crown test reagents and consumables band purchasing price reductions, and has issued eight notices that, in order to support the new crown outbreak prevention and control work, to further reduce the new crown virus nucleic acid test reagents demand for the cost of the burden of the population, the successful enterprise shengxiang biotechnology, dan genetics, master biology and other nine companies to take the initiative to apply for its selected products again to reduce the implementation of the price of nucleic acid test Nucleic acid test kits/personal copies of the lowest to 3.2 yuan.
China's Sichuan, Gansu, Guangzhou, as well as Guizhou and other provinces have introduced the latest regulations on the core, in the latest regulations there is a change on the nucleic acid charges, these areas are canceled nucleic acid free policy, but began to take the nucleic acid charge policy.
For example, most of the rural counties in Sichuan Province began to implement the nucleic acid fee policy as early as May. Because the economy of the rural counties is not as developed as that of the cities, the financial income that the rural counties can get every year is limited. If most of the money has to be taken out to give the people nucleic acid tests, then the township and county government's finances may fall into a deficit.
What's more, many townships and counties in Sichuan Province are poor townships and counties in China, and their own financial income is very low, and they even need to rely on the state's subsidies every year to maintain their operation. In this case, if the policy of free nucleic acid is continued, the government can hardly afford this expenditure.
Gansu, Guangzhou, and Guizhou regions, the reason for the implementation of the nucleic acid fee is similar to Sichuan Province, mostly because they can not afford the cost of nucleic acid testing, in order to be able to alleviate the financial pressure of the local community, and under compulsion to take the policy of nucleic acid charges.