In Azerbaijan, Monopolists from Medicine Block Use of Cheap, Effective Tests COVID-19

Baku/23.06.20/Turan: To fly abroad by an Azerbaijani airline, passengers must present the results of a test for their lack of coronavirus. The test should be held 48 hours before the flight, with a negative summary. Passengers on domestic flights may not take the test. In Baku, tests for COVID-19 can be taken at the İnci laboratory, and Referans and Memorial clinics. The cost of testing varies from 100 to 130 manat ($ 60- $ 77). These clinics and laboratories are accredited by the Medical Territorial Unit Management Association (TƏBİB). Not only passengers of the aircraft, but also other residents of the country who need information about their health, can pass testing at their own request, Azerbaijani media reported.

In Russia, this test can be passed without leaving your home, having invited a doctor. The cost of the service is 2 thousand rubles, or 49 manat. Without a doctor’s call, a test will cost 1,250 rubles.

In Kazakhstan, the same test will be done for 11500 tenge, or 48 manat. Unemployed and elderly people are served free of charge.

In Georgia, a coronavirus test will be done for 150 lari, or 83 manat.

Turan found out the reason for the high cost of the coronavirus test in Azerbaijan, as a result of which citizens with low incomes will not be able to give half or a third of their monthly income to check their health.

The named clinics and the laboratory provide telephone numbers for communication with staff on their websites, but only the phones of the Memorial clinic answered. Clinical director Mahir Ramazanov gave detailed answers to Turan's questions.

At first, he clarified that the cost of the test for COVID-19 in his clinic was 118 manat. The doctor knows that this amount is higher than in Georgia, Russia and Kazakhstan. But in Turkey, the COVID test costs 190 euros. At the first time of the pandemic, this clinic provided the service for free, but with the increase in the number of people applying for coronavirus testing and, accordingly, with the increase in costs, Memorial was forced to switch to paid services.

According to the director, the explanation of the high cost of services in our country is that whales (kits for testing) of foreign manufacture are used in Azerbaijan. In Russia, these whales are produced locally. In other countries, governments reimburse clinics for the cost of acquiring whales.

“The bulk of the cost of the service in Memorial lies with the payment of the whale, the actual work of collecting the sample and its analysis can cost in Memorial 15-20 manat,” the director said.

At the same time, the final amount must be added to the value added tax for medical services and the customs tax on imported goods. In Azerbaijan, unlike some other countries, imported medical products are subject to customs duties.

Not everyone knows that for clinics and laboratories, test results with a positive result (that is, confirming infection of the patient) are 2-3 times more expensive than with a negative result. The reason is that after receiving a positive result, laboratory workers are forced to conduct a second, sometimes third, analysis in order to verify the correctness of the result. Accordingly, it is spent 2-3 times more expensive reagents.

We asked about the reasons for complaints by doctors and patients about the poor quality of tests used in Azerbaijan. Mahir Ramazanov said that all kits in Azerbaijan are used high-quality, having the certificate of the state organization of the country of manufacture (in Russia it is Rospotrebnadzor). The reason for poor-quality tests is the improper collection of material by medical personnel. It happens that the staff does not take a smear from the recommended depth of the nasal cavity, and not from the patient’s mouth, while according to the rules, the sample should be taken from the nose and mouth; the instructions indicate the location and depth of sampling.

The second reason for errors is the testing period. The exact days are known after the coronavirus enters the body, when the sample accurately detects the presence of the virus. A test taken earlier than a certain time will not show the presence of the virus. Therefore, it happens that after passing the test in the early stages of infection and receiving a negative result, patients come to the lungs condition after a long time and it is found that in “healthy” people the lungs are destroyed by the coronavirus,” explained Mahir Ramazanov, director of the Memorial clinic.

Why does coronavirus in Azerbaijan infect more people every day, and the government is powerless in the fight against a pandemic? With the rapid spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 in the world, all countries should take the example from China to overcome it, the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post believes. "China has taught governments around the world one important lesson: be prepared to pay so that patients' expenses do not deter them from testing and treatment," the newspaper writes. According to the newspaper, in China, a coronavirus test costs about 370 yuan ($ 53).

The Turkish pharmaceutical company ERYİĞİT has developed tests for the coronavirus COVID-19, which give a 99% result in an hour and a half.

In the case of the acquisition of a large batch of tests, for example, 1 million units, the cost of one test will be $ 8 or 13.6 manat. For every 50 thousand tests, one diagnostic polymerase chain reaction diagnostic apparatus is issued free of charge.

According to Turan, ERYİĞİT offered its services in Azerbaijan, but the initiative was blocked in high offices. —0—