Covid-19 has been having a long-term effect on how we engage with daily activities and the wider world. It has been predicted that even with vaccination, it will be unlikely that the virus will go away forever. To be effective and rolled out through a global, mass immunisation program, we all will have to integrate forms of social distancing and PPE into our daily routines. Researchers at the University of Iowa believe that face shields could potentially be more effective than cloth face masks in the community setting. Also, studies such as 2014 NIOSH research show face shields reduced immediate viral exposure to the flu by 92%. Therefore, it is not a surprise that Sweden’s Public Health Agency refused to recommend face masks, claiming it is ‘very dangerous to believe face masks would change the game’.

To try and create a face shield that people would actually want to wear rather than simply put up with, UDEX has designed a shield with optional integrated sunglasses lenses and arms that make them more practical and feel less alien and intrusive on the wearer than a typical face shield would. It is hoped that improving the basic face shield design will encourage far greater uptake of its usage and help everyone adjust to the “new normal” that awaits us.