Germany has reinstated free Covid-19 tests due to a surge of cases in the country. The free rapid Covid-19 antigen tests were offered initially from March and were halted last month, Reuters reported. The German government had decided to stop offering free tests from October this year to boost vaccination rates in the country, Deutsche Welle reported. Ministry of Health estimates show that over 67% of the people are currently fully inoculated.
South Korea-based Daewoong Pharmaceutical has entered a contract with Vietnamese firm Vietha Pharma to supply Covid-19 diagnostic kits worth nearly $10.1m in the country. In July, Daewoong signed a supply deal with the kit’s developer CALTH, a South Korean firm focusing on in-vitro diagnostic medical device development, Korea Biomedical Review reported. Leveraging an immunochromatographic approach, the kit can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus from nasopharyngeal smear samples in 15 minutes. It has an accuracy of over 95% in detecting Covid-19. Based on the performance in Vietnam, Daewoong intends to extend the sales of the test kits across Southeast Asia.
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