Made-in-Vietnam Covid-19 test kit approved for sale in Europe

The kits, developed by the Vietnam Military Medical University and the Viet A Technologies with research funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, have been ordered by a partner of the latter for distribution in certain countries and territories, including India, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S., according to Phan Quoc Viet, director of Viet A.

But they cannot be bought by individuals since they require specific tools and skills, he said.

Last month around 20 countries and territories were negotiating the purchase of the kits. Viet A would export kits to Iran, Finland, Malaysia and Ukraine first, Viet said at the time. No further updates on the negotiations have been revealed.

Viet A said it is currently capable of producing around 10,000 kits a day, but could increase it to 30,000 if required. A kit is good for 50 tests.

The kits, which use reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), can detect the new coronavirus in droplets obtained from the respiratory tract and blood. They provide results faster and are easier to use than those used by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, according to the science ministry.

Vietnam has had 268 confirmed Covid-19 cases, 52 of them active, but no new infections in the last six days.

The pandemic, now in 210 countries and territories, has claimed more than 177,600 lives.