Soaring Demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) During COVID-19

COVID-19 has an enormous impact on several businesses in all fields. While some businesses experience tremendous loss as a result of the shutdown that the federal governments worldwide are implementing, concerted efforts by the government and industry will ensure that test times pass shortly.

Infection control consists of a wide range of measures such as hand hygiene, personal protective equipment and supplies for waste disposal especially when the disease is airborne. Personal protective equipment (PPE) contains clothing and other equipment for the safety of health workers or any other person infected with the virus. PPE includes face masks, facial protection, goggles, headcover and medical gloves that are of great significance in avoiding Coronavirus transmission, not only in health care facilities but also across a variety of practices, such as safe burials and other community care.

COVID-19 impact on protective equipment

“Even as India becomes the second-largest PPE kit manufacturer in the world by increasing its capacity from zero to two lakh a day, the domestic manufacturers of PPE kits are struggling to survive due to various issues”- Indian Express

As cases of coronavirus emerge around the world, many people now have a concern which should have been resolved by now faced by the hospitals, nursing homes and private medical practices: a serious shortage of face masks, protection vessels and protective gloves to protect front-line health workers against infection. In the starting phase of virus spread, the growing demand for protective equipment is now impacting a wide variety of medical facilities around the world and is causing a dilemma for public health experts and major medical organizations, if the federal government took a more vigorous approach to procure and delivering input, there would have been a possibility to stop it.

Many healthcare workers were advised to reuse the disposable PPE kits due to the acute shortage faced by the world. Other critical medical fields have become impeded due to the inability to find PPE kits. In recent weeks, neurologists, cardiologists and cancer specialists around the country have not been able to restart their offices, leaving many patients without treatment.

Source: UNICEF

Demand for personal protective equipment has reached unparalleled levels as COVID-19 has spread globally and policymakers have sought to plan and respond. The national stockpiling strategies of the affected countries have further boosted demand. In Q1 2020, the UN supplied more than 6.4 million gloves, 1.8 million surgical masks and 1 million gowns to countries around the world. However, there is a significant difference between what UNICEF and its partners have procured and the market criteria for LICs and MICs. UNICEF reports that the needs of 2.2 billion surgical masks, 1.1 billion gloves, 13 million goggles and 8.8 million face shields will be met by the end of the year.

Current situation of the protective equipment market

The demand for PPE kits has skyrocketed due to an exponential rise in the number of infection cases with demand surging by 300% due to the acute shortage of face masks and other types of equipment. The market for personal protective equipment is anticipated to reach XX billion dollars by 2030. The demand for face shield is anticipated witnessing a triple-digit growth figure as it became the most essential supply for the frontline workers during COVID-19