Amazon says it’ll make many face shields for medics and sell them at cost price within the US.
The internet giant said engineers from its drone and hardware divisions had been assigned with developing the product.
At first, it’ll sell the shields to healthcare professionals, before making them available every Amazon customers.
Amazon isn’t the first major firm in the US to use its resources to provide personal protective equipment (PPE).
Apple started dispatching face shields to hospitals in March. Space X, HP and Ford also used their manufacturing resources to create and donate face shields and other varieties of protective equipment.
Amazon said that it had donated 10,000 face shields within the US and was “on track” to deliver an extra 20,000.
But its plan to sell them at low prices on its website will make them available to the mass people, something other firms haven’t done.
A look on Amazon’s marketplace on Thursday showed face shields sold by independent sellers were priced between $12 (£9.80) and $35.
Once Amazon makes its mask available to every customer, it could drive the fare down significantly.
The online retail giant has faced criticism for undercutting the costs of independent retailers on its sites, but anti-trust experts say its efforts to assist during this crisis will likely offset those concerns.
“People who are concerned about Amazon’s predatory behavior might be concerned but more people will be happy Amazon is making sure these are lower cost at a time of crisis,” said Michael Kades, director of markets and competition at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.
