KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Chinese medical equipment manufacturers are ramping up production to meet surging demand for protective masks, fever reduction tablets and electrolytic water, after the government moved to optimise its anti-Covid-19 responses last week, according to China’s government mouthpiece Global Times (GT).
In a report on Tuesday (Dec 13), the newspaper said the number of searches related to scientific epidemic prevention and control increased by 15 times in the past week, and in particular, searches for N95 respiratory masks soared by 715%, according to data from Baidu's healthcare branch.
It said that on mainstream e-commerce platforms such as Taobao.com and JD.com, a reporter from GT searched "N95 masks" as a keyword, and found that most of the top sellers were out of stock, with only a few in stock and others requiring an appointment to purchase.
GT said it contacted several listed companies that make N95 masks as an investor on Tuesday.
It reported that a number of listed companies said they saw demand increase suddenly.
Some said that the products were out of stock, and they will expand production to meeting surging market demand, according to GT.
‘Fourth shot’ for seniors, high-risk groups
Meanwhile, in a separate report, GT said China is likely to roll out a second booster shot, or the fourth shot, for high-risk groups, including those aged 60 and above, and those with serious underlying disease or hypoimmunity.
It cited a source close to China's disease control and prevention system as saying that health authorities were holding a video training for their staff providing guidance on the issue.
A total of nine combinations of inoculation have been approved in China. People from the above-mentioned groups can apply for a fourth shot after at least six months of their third shot, the source said.