The moment has arrived. There is no turning back. The mask is no longer mandatory neither outdoors nor indoors. With some exceptions, yes: it is in health centers, residences and means of transport. The epidemiologists who advise the Government on the coronavirus pandemic advocated delaying the removal of face masks until after Easter, and this has been the case. The indoor mask has been the last non-pharmacological measure that remained in force after two years of the pandemic.
That is why today is a good time to take stock and find out, in figures, how much the average Spanish citizen has spent on masks throughout all this time. You’ll be surprised.
The star product for two years. Hydroalcoholic gel, disinfectants or masks were not lacking in the shopping basket, new expenses to which we also had to add the antigen test and PCR. Since March 2020, Spaniards have become accustomed to wearing masks at all hours. At first they were even sold out since it was not easy to find them due to the scarcity and high demand. Now they are sold in all kinds of establishments and it is one more product in the shopping cart, it has become a staple product.
The Government lowered in November 2020 the VAT on surgeries from 21 to 4% online as marked by the EU until June 30 of this year. The maximum price set by the Executive in surgeries is 0.62 euros per unit. However, the VAT has not been lowered for the FFP2. It should also be borne in mind that according to data from Cofares, the pharmaceutical distributor, between November 2021 and January 2022, with the omicron tsunami, the sale of FFP2 masks increased by more than 600%.
How much has it cost us? A lot, according to the OCU. In his calculations, spending on masks has risen since the start of the pandemic to 700 euros per person with a surgical mask spending one a day. If the consumer has opted for FFP2 masks, this expense amounts to 1,515 euros. This implies that, taking the cheapest and most used, surgical masks, Spaniards over 12 years of age (42 million) have spent, since the covid arrived, an abysmal figure of 33,000 million euros in two years.
The price. The first thing that must be established is the price of the masks, setting it individually and not by lots or boxes: Surgical masks: the maximum price is set at 0.62 euros; FFP2 masks: the cheapest ones cost around 2 euros; Cloth masks: the cheapest ones cost around 5 euros. Although there are currently no accurate calculations on the weight of this acquisition in the household basket, since it will always be an estimate that depends on several factors.
Some factors to consider. One would be teleworking, another, that they have given away masks, that many companies gave them to their workers, that batch purchases are cheaper and that a mask has been used once a week. Most Spaniards have not worn a surgical mask a day, especially at the beginning of the pandemic when they spent several months confined. In addition, teleworking was imposed and many did not use it because they were at home. The expense also depends on the circumstances of each family, the type of mask they buy, whether or not they reuse them more than necessary or if they have taken advantage of offers in supermarkets, pharmacies or online stores. Therefore, it can be assumed that this expense has been lower.
This cost increases if you take into account that the masks cannot be used for too long, since most of them begin to lose effectiveness after 4 hours of use. The OCU assures that its daily use has meant a notable outlay for families. Specifically, for one of two adults and two children, in which one of the members teleworks and the rest go daily to their work or educational center, the monthly expense can be around 80 or 100 euros, depending on the rest of the outings that do. That is, up to 1,200 euros in a full year.
irregular use. The Center for Sociological Research (CIS) analyzed the use that Spaniards make of protection measures against Covid. Thus, practically all of those surveyed, 99.2%, ensure that they use masks as a regular protection measure. Of them, 19.9% state that they use nine or more masks a week. 6.4 use one, 9.4 use two, 14.3 use three, 10.8 use four, 7.1 use five, 3.8 use six and 15.5% use seven . In addition, 6.3% affirm that they always use the same one, even if it is not disposable.
Antigen tests, another round business. During the month of December 2021, Spain broke the record ever seen to date for the sale of antigens. Exactly 8,501,243 proofs were sold in just one week. A figure that doubles if we look at the entire Christmas period, 15,593,070 units. Spanish families, according to the IQVIA health consultant, spent 108,356,240 euros on these tests. And precisely our country, before limiting the maximum, has placed itself in the range of European territories with the most expensive prices, with a range of between 5 and 10 euros, along the same lines as Italy, Belgium or Ireland. Although at Christmas, we get to pay up to 12 and 15 euros for a test. The shortage once again affected our pockets.
Image: Pexels