In Japan, Citizens Can Buy PCR Test Kits At Vending Machines

Illustration. (Unsplash / @ john_cameron)

JAKARTA - In Japan, convenience is number one for consumers. This got a test when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As an instant solution, sales through vending machines have also increased.

Under normal conditions, vending machines have become part of the Japanese lifestyle. A study conducted by a trade group, Japan has about 4.1 million vending machines.

Japanese citizens are also looking to vending machines as an alternative to getting a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kit. Yes, the PCR test, which many Japanese citizens hunt, has made the local government impose restrictions

In a day, the government only allows 40,000 PCR tests, a quarter of the capacity that can be carried out. Restrictions are in place, with priority for people who are moderately symptomatic or have a high likelihood of becoming infected.

That makes the public very dependent on private clinics or buying PCR testing in other ways.

Nose and Throat Clinic Director Takenoko Hideki Takemura said vending machines that sell test kits offer consumers the option of avoiding crowded clinics or having to wait for appointments. The clinic has installed seven machines in the greater Tokyo area.

"Japan is doing very low numbers of PCR tests and as a result more and more people don't know whether they are the flu or the coronavirus," Takemura told Reuters.

"Without a PCR test, no diagnosis is possible and I really feel we have to do more so that people can be diagnosed earlier and isolate earlier," he continued.

Takemura said that when it was launched for the first time, Japanese citizens attacked the vending machines for the PCR test. In fact, his party had to empty money in a number of machines twice a day.

Demand has since receded somewhat as the third wave of COVID-19 cases subsided amid the state of emergency. New cases in Tokyo have averaged around 250 over the past seven days compared with a few days of more than 2,000 at the start of January.

Each vending machine holds about 60 test kits that sell for 4,500 yen ($ 40). The customer then sends a saliva sample for processing.

"As a medical personnel, I would be very happy if the number of tests decreased along with the cases," said Takemura.

In addition to vending machines, PCR tests are increasingly available to the public through sales at drugstores or over the internet.