High demand: The sales of home-use medical devices, including the oximeters, rose 214% month-on-month this month, according to data from online retailer Suning.com.
BEIJING: The demand for medical supplies like oxygenators and pulse oximeters, which measure the oxygen concentration in arterial blood, has grown exponentially, as authorities optimised Covid-19 prevention and control measures to tackle the less lethal but highly contagious Omicron sub-variants.
Available stocks of various types of oxygen concentrators and oximeters made by major Chinese medical equipment manufacturers such as Yuwell Group, Lepu Medical and Edan Instruments have sold out.
To buy fresh output, consumers need to reserve in advance on eCommerce platforms such as Alibaba’s Taobao, JD and Suning.com, market observers said.
Data from online retailer Suning.com showed sales of home-use medical devices rose 214% month-on-month this month, while JD Health, the healthcare arm of JD, said the transaction volume of oximeters skyrocketed 61 times year-on-year in the past week alone.
Contec Medical Systems Co Ltd, a high-tech company focusing on research, manufacture and distribution of medical devices, said it has adjusted its production lines and is expanding its capacity to meet soaring demand, with the daily output of pulse oximeters alone reaching 100,000 units.
Last year, Contec’s oximeter products alone generated sales revenue of 461 million yuan (US$66.21mil or RM292.6mil), about 50% of the company’s total revenue.
SysMed China Co Ltd, a Shenyang, Liaoning province-based manufacturer of oxygen concentrators, non-invasive ventilators and other respiratory rehabilitation products, said it exports medical devices to more than 100 countries and regions, and about 95% of its output of oxygen concentrators is usually sold abroad. Bo Wenxi, chief economist at marketing firm Interpublic Group China, said some people, fearing possible infections, tend to stock up on some medical equipment. — China Daily/ANN
