A university in Shaanxi spent 3 million on nucleic acid testing services in the New Year, which had been aborted last year, with a single tube price of 15 yuan

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Since the New Year, with the adjustment of the epidemic prevention and control policy, the nucleic acid test has been far away from most people’s daily routine as the new coronavirus infection has been adjusted from “Category B, Tube A” to “Category B, Tube B”. However, on January 17, 2023, Xi’an University of Electronic Science and Technology released a bid announcement for the procurement of nucleic acid testing services for the new coronavirus, and two companies won the bid with a ceiling price of $15 for a single test and $3 for a mixed test. The announcement showed that the project budget was 3 million yuan, and the contract performance period was within 1 year after the contract was signed.

First financial reporter combing found that the project procurement was first launched on November 26, 2022, and then due to the lack of three valid bidders, on the 26th of December issued an announcement of bid flow. But the next day (December 27), the project again issued a public tender announcement, the announcement shows that the maximum price limit for bidders quoted single inspection, mixed inspection unit price per person shall not be higher than the current Shaanxi Province guidance unit price. According to the winning bid limit, Shaanxi Province’s guiding price is still 15 yuan for a single inspection mixed inspection 3 yuan.

Public information shows that just the third day after the release of this award announcement, that is, January 20, Shaanxi Province to further reduce the price of new coronavirus nucleic acid testing in public medical institutions, in which the maximum price limit of 13 yuan for a single person single tube.

Since December 2022, China’s epidemic prevention and control policies have been continuously adjusted. China government procurement network shows that since December 2022, a number of nucleic acid testing service projects around the world have been issued to terminate the tender announcement, the reasons for termination include “due to significant changes in the needs of the purchaser”, “due to changes in domestic new coronavirus policy, the procurement task cancellation The reasons for termination include “due to significant changes in the needs of the purchaser”, “due to changes in domestic novel coronavirus policy, the procurement task was cancelled”, etc.

On December 26, the National Health Commission issued an announcement to rename novel coronavirus pneumonia to novel coronavirus infection. According to the announcement, approved by the State Council, since January 8, 2023, the new coronavirus infection to lift the “People’s Republic of China Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Law” under the prevention and control measures of Class A infectious diseases; new coronavirus infection is no longer included in the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on State Border Health and Quarantine” under the management of quarantine infectious diseases.

However, in the second bidding announcement issued by Xi’an University of Electronic Science and Technology on December 27, the procurement requirements still stated that “according to the status of the normalization of the new coronavirus epidemic, nucleic acid testing is one of the most important means to control the spread, effectively cut off the transmission route and prevent the spread of the epidemic, and the procurement is to meet the demand for nucleic acid testing of the new coronavirus in our university”.