The pandemic which hit us in 2020 has caused a lot of suffering but, surprisingly, also created plenty business opportunities, especially in e-commerce. New entrepreneurs, investigating the new behavior of consumers, developed business ideas, and many succeeded and are still actively involved.
The question comes up whether the vaccination of millions of people will create business ideas also. Some “hunters” have become visible already, from trying to get access to the vaccines, to become agents for the new vaccine inventions, to developing supply-chains for vaccines, etc.
Other hunters may be looking at focused promotions for vaccinated people differently. For instance, concert organizers, cinemas, and restaurant operators could give preferential treatment to those who have been vaccinated, as safe bets, good for the economy, and incentivizing vaccination.
That would require to provide vaccinated people with a “health pass,” synonymous with the “travel pass” International Air Transport Association airlines are preparing now, which will give vaccinated people access to air travel. This pass to be issued to persons who have survived Covid-19 and those vaccinated after a certain delay period still to be defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Several countries are now working on these passes and seek recognition and acceptance reciprocity among themselves. Such access will kick-start the economy.
However, it has to be assumed that the authorities for now will reject particularly rapid easing by the private sector only for vaccinated people until the WHO advocates doing that and gives its approval.
Surely, some hunters in the Philippines will copy a business idea from the US. Dating apps offer a snapshot about a person’s life: a surprising health issue has emerged as a dealmaker or heartbreaker: have you had the coronavirus vaccine?
Other hunters may encourage customers to get vaccination appointments faster with money. There is a vast business with private vaccinations in emerging countries. In Brazil, India, or Thailand, private companies want to buy corona vaccines. Governments have nothing against the privileged being vaccinated earlier this way.
Whether cosmetic surgery or laser eye surgery, Thailand’s noble private hospitals are considered one of the first contact points for inexpensive, high-quality treatments.
In the coronavirus crisis, the clinics are smelling a new business model: those who bring enough money should buy one of the front seats in the vaccination line.
The listed Bangkok health provider Vibhavadi made its customers an exclusive offer at the end of December: Up to 1000 people should be able to reserve the earliest possible vaccination against the coronavirus for the equivalent of around 110 euros. The company said that an additional 170 euros would then be due for the US manufacturer Moderna’s vaccine. The total cost is roughly equivalent to the monthly wage of a local factory worker.
Vibhavadi has yet to await approval of the vaccine. However, Thailand’s authorities have no objection to preferential treatment for wealthy patients—the country is used to two-tier medicine between the sparsely equipped state hospitals and modern private clinics.
Thailand is not an isolated case. Governments in Brazil and Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan have also allowed the private sector to buy vaccines. The countries have significant differences in income, the governments are limited in their ability to make sufficient vaccines available—and corruption is often part of everyday life. The danger threatens that privileged people jostle in the vaccination queue. The timing of the vaccination becomes a question of social power.
Can those who bring enough money buy one of the front seats in the Philippines’s vaccination line also? I wouldn’t be surprised…
Look at the size of the potential “business”: In the Philippines, a two-dose Moderna treatment can already be ordered through a local foundation, backed by a business organization, for $70 + $2 (at cost) fee for customs clearance and delivery. At 20 million doses, that means a $40-million fee for such services—of course, at cost so that no taxes will apply. (??)
Government just warned the public of other hunters like sellers of locally manufactured fake vaccines and operators of “bogus” clinics…
Any other hunter ideas? I am sure you are not going to share that with me. But let’s be aware that this business will be developed, hopefully with integrity and ethics in mind. Comments are welcome; contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com.