A sharp rise in the cost of tests for the detection of coronavirus in Russian retail chains may be completely unreasonable. News that prices for a popular product are now breaking recordspublished by almost all domestic media. In this regard, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov recommended that employees of the supervisory authority check not only state pharmacies, but also commercial organizations that sell PCR tests. Astronomical margins will have to be explained.
Prosecutors are already fulfilling orders in several regions. As soon as employees of the Kaliningrad prosecutor’s office appear on the threshold of a pharmacy, the pharmacists’ eyes widen.
– We have organized a check of the reasonableness of prices for the implemented test systems for detecting covid and antibodies.
The cost of express tests for covid has recently skyrocketed to 3,000 rubles. At this point, apparently in order not to shock buyers with a price tag, instead of showcases, test systems were placed under the counter. It looks like the goods are being sold from under the floor.
– Show me where you have tests in the window.
– We don’t have them in the window, we have them here.
There are tests here a little more than 900 rubles. Prosecutors check documents. And, what a shame, pharmacists are convicted of deceit.
– Here we see the price of 737, and at the checkout you said 900 something. This is mistake. Then you need to print out where the selling price is indicated.
Tests for covid are now among the leaders in sales from pharmacists. Here, the owners of pharmacies, apparently, decided to capitalize on the hype. Prices for such goods are not regulated by law, because they are not included in the list of vital. The prosecutor’s office was inundated with customer complaints about expensive rapid tests. Therefore, the Prosecutor General of Russia, Igor Krasnov, instructed the greedy pharmacists to rein in.
“The Prosecutor General of Russia asked to check the validity of the cost of conducting research for the presence of the causative agent of a new coronavirus infection by PCR in the laboratories of medical centers, including private ones, as well as the prices for test systems in the pharmacy network,” said Andrey Ivanov, official representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation.
Express tests for covid are an analogue of the already familiar PCR. Experts consider this method of detecting infections to be one of the most accurate in medicine. With its help, specialists in just one stroke can see virus. In pharmacy tests, laboratory assistants replace reagents that signal the presence of a coronavirus in the body.
Rapid COVID-19 tests are fairly easy to use. Their implementation does not require a special laboratory and time-consuming. The result is ready in 15-20 minutes.
How much such a rapid test should cost is still an open question. The opinions of buyers also differ.
– How much are you willing to pay for it? I, for example, 900 rubles.
– Well, 500 rubles is ready.
– If I want a test, let everyone do it for free, not everyone can pay.
– Somehow it is a pity to pay money. I `m a pensioner.
– Maximum 2 thousand.
Prosecutors will transfer data on prices for express tests in pharmacies to the Federal Antimonopoly Service. After that, perhaps, a single cost will be established. In the meantime, the supervisory authority plans to conduct mass inspections throughout Russia.
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