The world is running out of sand: Shortage could mean there won't be enough to make glass vials for COVID vaccines Sand is used in concrete and glass, making it essential in housing and tech There's a sand shortage, with under 1,000 sand mines in the US That could hurt the construction industry, which uses up to 50 billion tons a year Since 2015 there's been a global shortage of glass that's only worsening as vials are needed for vaccine rollout Experts say demand for glass vials will rise by 2 billion over the next two years