VIJAYAWADA: As a result of the rapid surge in Covid infections, the demand for self-testing kits has seen a remarkable growth, which, eventually, led to many selling them sans official permission.The Drugs Control Administration (DCA) raiding a garment store in Vijayawada on Wednesday, is a case in point. The trader was caught selling the Covid self-test kits to the public without acquiring any permission from the authorities concerned. Covid test kits and spurious sanitiser, with a combined worth of `37 lakh, were seized from Vaishnavi Garments at One Town, under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 r/w Medical Devices Rules, 2017.
Assistant director (DCA) K Anil Kumar said accuracy of the at-home tests is on discussion even as e-commerce websites are offering their home delivery without any prescription. “Cashing in on the present situation, many have decided to make easy money by selling the test kits even though there is a ban in place. We urge the public to buy only from licensed persons.”
In its recent letter to all states and Union Territories, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recommended the use of the self-tests kits for symptomatic individuals. However, their rampant sale is a cause of concern since they make it difficult for the officials to track people suffering from Covid.
Stating that people with mild flu-like symptoms or those who travel frequently are relying on the kits, Anil Kumar said.“This poses a problem, both in terms of capturing the accurate data and curtailing the virus’ spread. The lack of a mechanism to capture data regarding the positive cases through home tests, unless individuals report it themselves, is concerning.”