Coronavirus in China: drugs and medical devices are the hottest tickets online
- Amid health scares and scarcity, oximeters and oxygen generators are must-haves
- Residents scour the internet for supplies fearing they won’t have them when they need them
The first time Huang Lipeng came across a “pulse oximeter” was on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, last week.
The 30-year-old IT engineer from Zhuhai, in southern China’s Guangdong province, quickly bought an oximeter for his family after watching videos that said people with diabetes should pay special attention to their blood oxygen levels.
His 60-year-old father has severe diabetes while his mother has had surgery for uterine cancer.
But he hesitated to buy an oxygen generator and then the price spiked – doubling to 1,580 yuan (US$227) a week later before quickly going out of stock.
Stories of untold numbers of elderly patients dying because of a lack of emergency medical care have scared many into stocking up on home medical equipment, buying drugs through the black market, or even taking antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription.
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