A resident in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province uses oximeters to monitor blood oxygen saturation on December 11, 2022. Photo: VCG

 
The prices of many medical products such as N95 masks and oximeters have fallen back to normal as supply and demand get back into balance after China's recent COVID-19 infections wave fades. 

The topic ranked second on the search trending list of Chinese Twitter-like social media Sina Weibo on Monday, where many netizens discussed the situation. 

A netizen named "Jiji Xiangshang de Yinfu" said the price drops were within expectations with the increased capacity of manufacturers and the easing of the Omicron infection wave. 

Another netizen "Yuming" said that it was pointless to hoard medical supplies. "Due to China's advantages in manufacturing, supplies of masks, protective suits, oximeters and medicines always quickly recovered after temporary shortages." 

On e-commerce platform JD.com, a type of N95 mask that had feedback from more than 500,000 customers was being sold for 115 yuan ($17) per 100. The price for a single mask is about 1.15 yuan. 

On e-commerce platform Taobao.com, most types of portable oximeters were being sold in the range of 70 to 300 yuan. 

In late December, prices of many medical supplies soared as major Chinese cities encountered the first wave of COVID-19 infections. Media reported that the prices of some oximeters surpassed 1,300 yuan from the original price of 299 yuan.

Chinese medical equipment maker Yuwell replied to investors' queries about the surging prices of oximeters on December 28, saying that the company had ended discounts due to rising costs. It noted that its sales of oximeters had been conducted following relevant regulations and it hadn't raised prices.

Global Times