The purchase of rapid antigen tests has been suspended, raising questions about whether there has been any attempt to restrict competition.



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NVSPL intended to acquire 300,000. such tests. As the scientist from the Center for Life Sciences prof. Dr. Aurelija Žvirblienė, rapid antigen tests as well as PCR tests show the presence of the virus in the current time, but the difference is that rapid tests do not have to wait long and do not require special reagents or expensive equipment.

However, it seems that we will still have to wait for these texts to appear.

Suppliers were able to bid for this acquisition until Wednesday morning, but an acquisition termination notice was posted on the page of the Central Procurement Organization (CPO) conducting the acquisition on behalf of the laboratory on Tuesday.

It points out that 3 complaints and 13 inquiries have been received since December 6, when the hiring was announced, which, according to the CPO, suggests that the hiring documents do not meet the requirements of the Public Procurement Law, that the documents Contracts must be precise, clear and unambiguous. .

“In addition, inquiries and complaints received from suppliers have shown that technical requirements may restrict competition between suppliers or that there is a risk of not receiving offers that meet the requirements, requiring a review of the technical specification to allow more suppliers participate in new acquisitions, “says CPO.

The organization also states that in cases where the material terms of the purchase change, it must be terminated and restarted.

Darius Marma, the acting head of the Central Procurement Authority (CPO LT), said that the technical procurement specification had been prepared by NVSPL and later decided to review it, thus requesting to terminate the ongoing procurement.

It does not deny that the purchase is rescinded, it will only clarify the specifications

However, the laboratory indicates otherwise.

With Lab Head Dan Baksha 15 minutes contact failed.

Following the release of this information, the laboratory issued a press release explaining that the procurement of rapid antigen tests will continue, rather than be reissued, following vendor feedback and revised specifications.

“The specifications for rapid antigen tests were specified by the NSPL based on expert recommendations provided at the time. The tender began at the end of November and the opening of the envelopes is scheduled for December 23.

Potential suppliers have submitted complaints and inquiries regarding the requirements specified in the tender specifications, which do not comply with the provisions of the Order of the Ministry of Health “On the approval of COVID-19 serological testing and testing procedures (coronavirus infection) “on the sensitivity, specificity and other requirements of the test. indicators. Updated contracting procedures, as agreed with all the institutions involved in the contracting process, will be carried out through open bidding, through a central contracting authority.

The purchase will be announced immediately after the experts provide new guidance on the new specifications. The minimum term for an updated competition is 25 days from its publication in the CVP IS ”, the comment reads.

The ministry says the purchase has only been suspended

The Health Ministry informed the BNS news agency that the purchase is not being rescinded but is being suspended.

According to the ministry, the process was suspended “while the claims received from suppliers are being processed.”

D.Bakša, director of the National Public Health Laboratory (NVSPL), BNS promised that information about it will be released soon as a press release.

According to SAM, Lithuania has also provided the European Commission with information on another 400 thousand. the need for antigen testing.

According to the ministry, the European Commission has signed a preliminary agreement with Abbott Laboratories and Roche. These tests may be available to member states early next year, according to SAM.

For rapid antigen tests, as well as for molecular tests (PCR), a sample from the nasopharynx is used.

This test method is cheaper, allows people to be tested faster, and does not require highly qualified personnel to perform the tests.



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