Photo: VCG

Demand for antigen detection kits has surged in China in recent days as the country moves away from large-scale nucleic acid testing toward a flexible way of combating the COVID-19 virus, public data and media reports noted.

On domestic medical products website JD Health, the turnover from antigen detection kits increased by 344 percent from November 28 to December 4 compared with the previous week, according to domestic media reports.

There are multiple brands of antigen detection kits available on JD Health but the kits made by Andon Health Co, a leading Chinese COVID-19 antigen detection kit producer, are now out of stock on the platform.

The online store of Cofoe Medical Technology Co on Alihealth also showed that the store sold more than 300,000 sets of COVID-19 antigen detection kits in the past month.

Meanwhile, many investors have posed questions related to COVID-19 antigen detection kits to listed companies on investor interactive platforms in recent days, and multiple companies disclosed to media outlets that they have seen a surge in demand for the kits recently.

For example, Shenzhen YHLO Biotech Co said that demand has grown larger ever since Guangzhou adjusted the local coronavirus prevention measures. Currently, the company has increased production of kits, according to a report by domestic news portal thepaper.cn.

"We produce about 7.5 million sets of such kits every day and they are delivered on the same day of production. The company has no stock at present," the report quoted a member of staff as saying. The firm will adjust production in the future according to demand, the report noted.

Zhejiang Orient Gene Biotech Co also disclosed that the company's production of COVID-19 antigen detection kits is rising due to the surging demand, the report noted.

So far, the National Medical Products Administration has approved 36 COVID-19 antigen detection products.

The surge in demand for COVID-19 antigen detection kits came after multiple Chinese local governments optimized coronavirus prevention policies and scrapped nucleic acid test requirements at public sites. Many Chinese people have been rushing to buy the products and related medicines in case they have symptoms like a cough or fever.

According to thepaper.cn report, many pharmacies still have a sufficient stock of the products at present.

Global Times