COVID-19 Impact on PPE Kits in Healthcare Industry

Personal protective equipment is commonly referred to as "PPE." PPE is a worn equipment which helps to minimize exposure to hazards from the workplace illnesses and injuries. These injuries may result from contact with radiological, physical, chemical, mechanical, electrical, mechanical, or other workplace hazards. PPE includes the items such as safety glasses, gloves and shoes, earplugs or muffs, respirators, or coveralls, hard hats, and full body cover suits. Choosing the right PPE helps to reduce the exposure to hazards and is essential to laboratory safety.

Type of PPE:-

Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment Endangering Health Workers Worldwide

The World Health Organization has warned that extreme and mounting disruption to the worldwide delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) – resulting from growing demand, panic buying, hoarding, and misuse – is placing lives at chance from the brand new coronavirus and different infectious diseases. Healthcare employees rely upon private shielding systems to shield themselves from being infected. However, shortages are leaving doctors, nurses, and different frontline employees dangerously ill-prepared to take care of COVID-19 sufferers,. Industry and governments have to act speedily to reinforce delivery, ease export regulations, and positioned measures in vicinity to prevent hypothesis and hoarding. “We can’t prevent COVID-19 without defensive medical examiners first” stated WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

The current coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19) has spread worldwide. All COVID-19-affected countries throughout the world are taking containment measures and doing their utmost to combat the disease in order to prevent it from spreading further and to limit death. In the early discovery of cases, contact tracing, and treatment of patients, the public health workforce and healthcare workers in clinical settings play a critical role. In order to combat any infectious disease in a crisis, healthcare practitioners and public health workers must have access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and utilize it consistently and correctly.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the globe, the demand for personal protective equipment has skyrocketed. Many nations, including India, have experienced a temporary scarcity of PPE due to the pandemic's rapid spread. The absence of personal protective equipment (PPE) has harmed the morale of healthcare workers (HCWs) and other frontline troops fighting the coronavirus epidemic, which has afflicted over 22,000 health workers in 56 nations. Some have succumbed to it in countries all over the world, including India (WHO).. Moreover, an increase in the potentially infectious patients seeking testing and care accelerates the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world. Spread of COVID infection all over the world is generating the demand for PPE kits such has like face masks, gloves, goggles, air-purifying respirators, respirators face shields, and gowns among health care employees. As a result of shortage in all kinds of PPE, developed high demand across the globe.

For instance

• United Nations Children's Fund plays an important role in the delivery of PPE. The fund shipped more than 653.4 million items of PPE in 140 countries.

MAJOR SUPPLIERS OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

(In USD Million)

From the above table, it can be inferred that china is the major supplier of PPE kits Followed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Germany.

Conclusion

The spread of the novel coronavirus has triggered significant market damage across the world. Most businesses have stopped immediately, and the effect of the pandemic has been on all industries. The towns were closed down, and social distancing has become a modern norm.

Government along with the private sector can play a vital role in reviving the sector. The government is providing financing assistance for needs arising from COVID-19; the private sector can take care of large investments and expertise required in developing countries. Apart from this, strong engagement with governments and local stakeholders will continue to contribute significantly to the development of the sector.

In the starting days of pandemic, drastically boots the demand of personal protective equipment all over the globe. The use of personal protective equipment “specially medical masks” has become more popular in the world and also other PPE such has gloves, face shields, gowns, googles and other items have experienced rise in the demand among essential workers and frontline health care employees.

Companies are making the strategic action to increase the supply to meet the demand of personal protective equipment in the market. Government has also introduced many polices and initiatives which would help manufactures to maintain in stable growth in current dynamic situation.