Thread by @marshall_allen

THREAD: You may be buying/using the wrong kind of hand sanitizer.

There’s a TON of info going around about coronavirus prep and prevention, and all of it seems urgent.

But this is something that could help save people a lot of money — and maybe even some lives...

Sellers on @Amazon and @Ebay have been price gouging @PURELL products:

- hand sanitizing wipes for $199
- alcohol-free sanitizer — 6 oz, or less than a cup — for $55

But here’s the thing: some of these products’ active ingredient is benzalkonium chloride...

@amazon @eBay @PURELL ...an ingredient that the CDC does NOT recommend for coronavirus.

Benzalkonium chloride is often the active ingredient in “alcohol-free” sanitizers.

Instead, the CDC recommends products w/ at least 60% alcohol IF you can’t wash your hands (still the best option)

@amazon @eBay @PURELL We asked Kelly Ward-Smith, spokeswoman for @Purell, WHICH of the “99% of most illness-causing germs” their non-alcohol products actually kills.

She declined to answer, saying that b/c our story focused on coronavirus, she did not want to violate FDA guidelines.

@amazon @eBay @PURELL Some people have brought up making homemade hand sanitizers:

Beware of most of the recipes out there, as they call for whiskey or vodka that doesn’t have a high enough in alcohol %

@amazon @eBay @PURELL Even brands like @TitosVodka have weighed in on misinformation, reminding people that their product is only 40% alcohol, lower than the CDC’s 60% requirement:

https://twitter.com/TitosVodka/status/1235775689351147520

@amazon @eBay @PURELL @TitosVodka My @ProPublica colleague @lisalsong and I have the whole story here: propublica.org/article/corona…

@amazon @eBay @PURELL @TitosVodka @propublica @lisalsong @ProPublica put together a team to dig into our country’s response to the coronavirus crisis. Do you work or live on the front lines of coronavirus? Please complete this form to show us what we should cover next: propublica.org/coronavirus

@amazon @eBay @PURELL @TitosVodka @propublica @lisalsong And sign up to get ProPublica’s investigations via our newsletter (sorry, it’s still general interest, not coronavirus focused):
propub.li/2TIaVAl