While you might be tired of reading about COVID-19 and the issues that go along with it, the pandemic is still very much a reality. And it’s even more of a reality for those who are sick and in need of life-saving medical oxygen. With approximately 15 percent1 of all people with COVID-19 requiring oxygen support, access to medical oxygen can be the deciding factor for many patients during this pandemic.
Now more than ever, the use of medical oxygen is being prioritized. Oxygen therapy has the ability to save millions of lives, from COVID-19 treatments to pneumonia and asthma. Since the beginning of the pandemic, demand for oxygen therapy has gone up. With such high demand, medical oxygen suppliers have had to work tirelessly to deliver oxygen and support hospitals. While there have been some tight spots for those in the medical oxygen industry – especially with the recent spikes – these companies have banded together and figured out ways to pool this precious resource.
But moving oxygen is not an easy thing to do. To transport, it must be liquified and stored at minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit and requires special trucks, making shipping and transporting to other states or countries extremely difficult. As a result, oxygen is typically produced within about 100 miles of where it’s used. So what have these companies done?
In order to better help patients, the medical oxygen industry now tries to anticipate the virus’s path by moving resources to critical areas. If you remember the early days of the pandemic last March, items like toilet paper, sanitizer, and masks were sold out everywhere. The initial demand for these items hit all at once. But unlike these items, demand for oxygen doesn’t come all at once. Rather, it spikes when hospitals reach capacity. But by reviewing data, these companies can see when these spikes could potentially hit. As a result, data has played an important role in helping these companies to anticipate future needs.
During the pandemic, oxygen companies have become more than innovative – they’re saving lives while pivoting. These companies have also found new ways to transfer much-needed medical oxygen and supplies across longer distances. For some suppliers, they’ve established resource exchanges for everything from access cylinders to trucks and manpower.
This cooperation of the oxygen supply industry is helping to change the outcome of COVID 19 for many patients. Every single event and situation has led them to be more capable and helpful than ever before. Not only are they supplying areas and hospitals that would otherwise have to turn patients away, but they’ve learned how to work around other issues like the weather. In areas like Texas and New York that experience cold temperatures, oxygen companies shared information in order to quickly work around the problem of oxygen pipes freezing.
The medical oxygen community saw an opportunity to implement systemic solutions that could save lives and increase oxygen access – and they were able to do it. And we’re doing our part to help Southern California stay healthy and beat COVID-19. From small and medium-sized businesses to individuals, we provide our clients with top medical-grade oxygen.
You can rely on Calox to supply you with the quality gases and supplies you need. Contact us today for a quote on medical oxygen therapy for your SoCal business!