CHENNAI: Even as Tamil Nadu deployed 36,000 rapid test kits for screening in COVID-19 hotspots, Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation (TNMSC) MD Dr P Umanath on Saturday revealed each kit had been purchased at a cost of Rs 600 (excl GST). This was the same price stipulated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), he said.
“We purchased the same product from the same vendor at the same rate,’’ he said. In a step towards transparency, TNMSC also shared the purchase scripts with journalists, after the evening health briefing. According to the purchase scripts, the State on April 3 ordered 50,000 kits at a rate of Rs 600 (excl GST) per kit for a total amount of Rs 3.36 crore (incl 12% GST). Health Minister C Vijayabhaskar said health staff had been trained on using the rapid kits.
“Results have started to come too,’’ he said, adding RT-PCR tests remained the primary diagnostic tool while rapid test kit results are only indicative. “It will show if one has been exposed to the virus or not. If we are exposed, the test would identify the IGM and IGG antibodies,’’ he said. TNMSC’s move to share purchase details came hours after DMK chief MK Stalin demanded the State disclose the pricing of the kits purchased from China. Stalin cited Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo’s Twitter post revealing his State had bought the kits at a rate of Rs 337 (excl GST).
At the briefing, Umanath said the amount paid by two states could not be compared. He said that since the Centre’s decision to place orders for kits on April 2, prices have changed. “Back then, the number of companies were fewer and now companies have increased. If we float another tender, we may also get kits at a lower price,’’ said Umanath.
‘Kits will be used on persons with flu-like illness’
Umanath clarified that Tamil Nadu had placed orders the day after the Centre decided to place orders. “On the basis of this, 24,000 kits have arrived and the Centre has given 12,000 kits further. Tamil Nadu has ordered five lakh kits totally and it will come batch by batch,’’ said Umanath. Health secretary Dr Beela Rajesh explained to Express the testing strategy that the State is adopting. Initially, the 36,000 rapid test kits will be used to test persons with Influenza Like Illness (ILI) in hotspots, she said.
Noting that district administrations had started conducting tests, she said distribution of kits is done on the basis of number of cases. The health secretary reiterated that rapid test kits are a surveillance rather than diagnostic tool. After seven days of a person being infected with an ILI, this antibody test would reveal the person’s exposure to the virus, she said. Dr Rajesh added that the health department of civic bodies will be conducting the tests based on ICMR guidelines.
“It will be used in hotspots, and if someone from a non-hotspot area comes with ILI, they too will be tested,” she explained. The ICMR had recommended the use of antibody rapid testing for COVID-19 in high containment zones on April 2. The ICMR guidelines state that antibody tests should be done after seven days of illness, as antibodies take seven days to develop after an infection.
A total of five lakh rapid testing kits arrived India on Thursday, and the second batch is awaited. Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K Shanmugham had earlier said that the State had placed an advance order for four lakh testing kits.
Cost per rapid test kit
According to the purchase scripts, on April 3, Tamil Nadu ordered 50,000 kits at a rate of Rs 600 (excl. GST) per kit