When news of coronavirus was first heard around the world, most countries didn’t know what to make of it or what to do to contain the virus. Even the first variant of the virus was a super spreader. It quickly spread into every nation. At first, people didn’t have an idea how the virus was passed on from an infected person to somebody who didn’t have it yet.
When health professionals recovered their bearings, they acted swiftly and urged people to wear face masks and use hand sanitizer often. Enterprising businesses soon saw an opportunity in setting up PPE vending machine. These machines dispense Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as face masks and hand sanitizers.
There are those, however, who think PPE vending machines will fade away after the pandemic. But some insist they’re here to stay. Here are a few points for those who believe these vending machines will continue to rake in profits for their owners even if the ongoing pandemic does come to an end.
1. Current Uses Of PPE Vending Machines
With the ongoing pandemic, some enterprising businesses and individuals have found a viable solution to the need of most people for access to protective equipment, accessories, and supplies. Currently, PPE vending machines are being used to dispense face masks, face shields, respirators, and hand sanitizers; all of which have become part of workplace necessities. Most PPE vending machines were set up in public places such as metro railway stations and malls.
PPE vending machines play a significant role in maintaining cleanliness, personal hygiene, and public health. It’s not an uncommon occurrence for some individuals to forget to bring face masks, respirators, and hand sanitizers when they leave their homes or offices. When this happens, that person is left with no choice but the inconvenient and often time-consuming task of having to look for the nearest pharmacy or convenience store where they can find face masks and sanitizers.
2. It Will Always Be With Us
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said they think the coronavirus is bound to stay with most societies for several more years in the foreseeable future. In their recent pronouncements, the top WHO officials have also said they’re already considering whether the coronavirus should be treated like most other common ailments such as the common cold, cough, flu, and other infectious diseases.
While it’s certainly desirable for the coronavirus pandemic to end and just go away, the numbers in a lot of countries all over the world indicate that this infectious disease is still continuously being transmitted in a wide number of countries. Given this, it seems that the PPE vending machines will still have a role to play in the campaign to contain the coronavirus. There’s enough reason to believe that demand for PPE vending machines will remain at its current levels.
But even if the pandemic does come to an end and maybe just simply go away, it doesn’t mean the need for face masks, respirators, and hand sanitizers will disappear. These items are part of personal necessities for health and hygiene. Even if there’s no pandemic, people will always have the need to shield their faces and protect their lungs from polluted air and potentially infectious droplets of sweat and saliva from humans. This can only mean there will still be market demand for the items being sold in PPE vending machines.
3. Continuing Demand For PPE Vending Machines
Although the demand for PPE vending machines will surely not be as high as it is now that the pandemic is still raging worldwide, it doesn’t follow there would no longer be any need for PPE vending machines once the global coronavirus pandemic is over. PPE vending machines fill an essential personal and social need. For individuals, PPE vending machines are a great way to make face masks, respirators, and hand sanitizers conveniently available to everyone.
For institutions, PPE vending machines are one of the most effective ways to raise awareness about the importance of personal health and hygiene. At the same time, there’s also an effective way to implement any institution’s policy on maintaining cleanliness in public places and private social spaces. This allows an institution to commit to public health and cleanliness.
Even if the global pandemic ends, there’ll be institutions and places which will have a need for PPE vending machines. Of course, the most obvious clients and users of PPE vending machines even after the pandemic are hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare institutions.
There are also other industries and businesses which prefer to have PPE vending machines within their premises. Some examples are offices in central business districts (CBDs). Most of these offices have a rigid office policy and building regulations on individual personal hygiene, cleanliness, and sanitation of common areas. Some industries also require PPE vending machines in their factories and assembly plants.
Post-Pandemic Equipment (PPE) Vending Machines
There’s enough reason to believe that there’ll be a continuing demand for PPE vending machines even after the global pandemic ends. Some of the market consumption and demand for the items being sold in PPE vending machines may disappear or scale down, but it doesn’t mean that there will no longer be any demand for PPE vending machine items. On the other hand, if more people go out, there will also be a higher demand for PPE vending machine items.