Black marketing and Non-Standardized PPE Kits Are Sabotaging War Against Corona

By in Internal Medicine

May 20, 2020

Corona epidemic is spreading like wildfire, no region or country is unaffected by the havoc that corona is causing. Developed countries that boasted of world-class healthcare facilities are also bearing the brunt. In countries like the USA, UK, Italy, etc. the death toll due to corona is tens of thousands.

Every country is making efforts to equip their healthcare workers with the best equipment and facilities. However, as the world has never seen a pandemic of such proportion in recent times, everyone seems to be ill-equipped to counter the corona.

Governments are grappling with the shortages of crucial pieces of equipment such as PPE kits, surgical masks, goggles, gloves, sanitizers, etc. As there is exponential worldwide demand and healthcare equipment manufacturing industry is unable to meet this surge in demand, black-marketing and profiteering have started across the world.  Even non-healthcare manufacturers have started producing this equipment in a bid to exploit this situation.

The PPE kits are crucial for healthcare workers to protect them from getting infected while caring for COVID-19 infected patients.  A PPE consists of a gown/body protection suit, gloves, facial, facemask, eye goggles, hair cover, and foot cover. Though this has been used in the past, it has now gained fame like never before. 

Hospitals now have to ensure that all healthcare personnel should use PPE kits even at the centers that are not treating covid19 patients, as there is a risk of getting infected through asymptomatic patients.

We have witnessed cases where proper PPE precautions were not taken and multiple staff members were quarantined and in some cases, even the hospitals were sealed.  

Single healthcare worker requires multiple PPE kits a day, this adds up to the cost of treatment and hospitals are forced to charge the cost of the PPE to the patient but this has received a lot of criticism.

Furthermore, the shortage of PPE’s and other equipment is seen as a business opportunity and many unscrupulous manufacturers and distributors started reaching out to Health institutions offering these kits at exorbitant prices. Masks that were previously available for as low as one rupee are being marketed at many times that cost. Given the urgent need and very short supply, hospitals are left with no choice but to pay over-inflated prices for acquiring them. Though hospitals in a state of urgency are acquiring these kits, the quality of these kits is questionable as they might not be following the BIS standards.

On a brighter side, a lot of renowned companies from multiple industries have now stepped in to help deal with the shortage. These are Non-traditional health equipment manufacturers but, given their market standing they can be trusted with producing quality sanitizers, gloves, masks, PPE, etc. to help with the shortage. Though it is encouraging to see everyone stepping in and doing their bit in this time of national crisis the cost of gloves, masks, and other components of the PPE are still very high.

COVID 19 pandemic has already taken significant health and economic toll on the population and healthcare systems across the world have been overburdened due to lack of facilities. We need to ensure that the situation should not decorate further.

The government must put a price cap on the cost of essential items that are required in the treatment and prevention of the corona pandemic. As it seems this situation might endure for some time to come, the government must step in and ensure that the hospitals are not being forced to overpay to protect the healthcare workers who are at the forefront of this pandemic.