Global condom sales are set to rise as COVID-19 restrictions continue to be softened throughout 2022, according to Malaysia-based Karex – the world's largest condom manufacturer.
IMAGE: AFP / Taipei Times
One of the biggest contributors of the global COVID-19 restrictions ease is the vast coverage of vaccination programs held in nations across the world. The more vaccinated people there are, the more likely governments will open up their borders and ease COVID standard operating procedures (SOPs).
And this means more people will be out of their homes, wandering the outside world, and perhaps mingling with other people ready to interact (and more) with humans again.
Rising (and staying) up.
IMAGE: AFP / New Straits Times
Earlier this year, the condom giant reported a 40 percent drop in global condom sales for the last two years (2020 and 2021), due to heightened restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this didn't necessarily mean people had less sex throughout the first two years of the pandemic.
With people stuck at home, and with very little incentive to go outside (yes, even to get condoms), those wanting to do the dirty most probably opted to go bare instead.
IMAGE: Bernama / Free Malaysia Today
But the condom giant is optimistic for 2022, seeing that more and more economies are beginning to open up as we begin to accept that COVID-19 isn't necessarily going anywhere, anytime soon.
“As vaccination rates ramp up around the world, more economies continue to relax restrictions and societies begin to adapt to post-pandemic life,” Karex said in a note accompanying its earnings on February 21, 2022.
Does this mean people will start buying more condoms again, especially among those who are used to using none at all? Not necessarily.
But with increased emphasis on hygiene in the COVID-era – and, you know, sexually transmitted diseases are still very much a thing – it's not a stretch to be confident about that notion.
Will you be stocking up on condoms this year?
Read more life stories:
9 alternative uses for condoms. 'Cause let's face it, you're not getting any.
Condom sales went limp during the pandemic, M'sian condom giant says
Thais will be given free condoms & birth control so they can bone responsibly
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