UCLA announced this month that it will expand the number and operating hours of essential health vending machines on campus.

The Be Well Bruin Express – launched by UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center and UCLA’s Health Education and Resource Team in partnership with UCLA Vending Services – is stocked with a variety of health-related products and operates 24 hours a day outside the Ashe Center.

The machines offer naloxone or Narcan, fentanyl test strips, condoms and menstrual hygiene products for free, according to an Oct. 13 press release from the Ashe Center. Students must pay for bandages, thermometers, ice packs and pregnancy tests, though a price has not yet been decided, according to the release.

“Previously dedicated exclusively to COVID-19 PCR test kits, the vending machines will now offer a broader range of supplies, including first aid items, sexual health products, and harm reduction items,” said Amrit Nagra, the director of clinical operations at the Ashe Center.

The new machine does not display the prices for any of the items it is stocked with.

Unlike the health product vending machines located in Covel Commons and Ackerman Union, the new machine operates 24/7.

Daniela Castro, the Undergraduate Students Association Council student wellness commissioner, said her commission met with Be Well Bruin last academic year to discuss what health products students want to see in the vending machines.

The commission advocated for expanding the products offered in existing machines and increasing the number of machines across campus, said Castro, a fourth-year political science and statistics and data science student.

“Having vending machines in locations that are accessible is helpful because if you’re on your way to class and you need something from the vending machine, you’re more likely and easily to access it or get it, rather than having to wait and look for it around campus,” she said.

Castro added that she appreciates having access to 24/7 basic health supplies, especially in the case of an emergency.

Cosima Ritter, a fourth-year psychology student, said she would use the new vending machine if she ever needed to. She added that she appreciated that the Ashe Center provides fentanyl test strips, naloxone, condoms and masks for students.

Offering free naloxone is especially important because it can be life-saving, Ritter said.

“So many people are studying in libraries, so very late, and so having these machines accessible at all times can make it more accessible for a student to get something or more inclined to use it because it’s available for them,” Castro said.