EPA Approves Lysol As COVID-19 Killer

In an exciting update during an otherwise distressing pandemic, the Environmental Protection Agency has approved two surface disinfectants for use against COVID-19.

The two products that received this approval are Lysol Disinfectant Spray and Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist.

According to the New York Post, this approval was given after the Lysol products were found to be “effective against” COVID-19 in laboratory testing.

This development is an important one in the fight against COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that “it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, norse or possibly their eyes.”

The National Institutes of Health teamed up with the CDC, the University of California – Los Angeles and Princeton University to research the coronavirus, and found that the virus can live on a surface for multiple days. 

CNN reports on this news, noting that the testing conducted on the Lysol products revealed that the products can kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, after two minutes of contact with the virus. 

Now, the new laboratory information establishes that the two Lysol products may help prevent the spread of COVID-19 on hard, nonporous surfaces. Lysol is now conducting its own research on other products to determine if they can help fight against the coronavirus, as well.

The EPA explains that though only two products have been tested directly against SARS-CoV-2, other products have been subjected to testing against other virulent viruses. 

Reportedly, the EPA has released guidelines for how companies can test products for their capacity to fight viral pathogens.

The guidelines acknowledge that novel pathogens like SARS-CoV-2 are hard to test for, particularly if a company wishes to test their products before a pandemic or outbreak emerges.

To deal with this difficulty but enable companies to gain valuable information about their products, manufacturers can show that a product can kill viruses that are more virulent and hard to kill than COVID-19. Then these manufacturers can share this information with the EPA.

The EPA is now compiling a list of products that meet their criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2. More than 420 products are on the list.

The EPA anticipates approving more products soon, noting that the approval process can take around 14 days.

CNN gives more context for the importance of this research. According to CNN, the CDC conducted a survey that revealed that though people were cleaning their homes more often than normal in the hopes of fighting the spread of COVID-19, only half of survey participants reported that they knew how to both clean and disinfect safely and effectively.

According to CNN, some people may be putting their health in danger by using cleaning products improperly, combining cleaning products, nor by not wearing needed protective gear while using strong chemicals.

Keeping products tightly closed and away from children is also important, stresses the EPA, as they can be dangerous or fatal if consumed. ABC notes the CDC advises consumers to make a daily habit of cleaning and disinfecting surfaces that are frequently touched.

The EPA provides guidelines on how to use cleaning products to best effect, and advises that consumers should first wash a surface with soap and water before using a disinfectant if the surface is visibly dirty. Leaving a disinfectant on a surface for the proper amount of time is also important — contact time is the amount of time that the surface stays wet during cleaning.

The CDC stresses that daily cleaning should be just one part of a person’s defense against the coronavirus, paired with social distancing, wearing face masks in public and washing hands thoroughly.

Lysol’s parent company, Reckitt Benckiser, has joined health experts and news sources in urging the public to not use disinfectants internally, in an effort to combat President Donald Trump’s unsupported suggestion that injecting disinfectant into an infected person’s body could help fight the coronavirus, the New York Post notes.

As if the public did not have enough to deal with in the realm of COVID-19 safety, some sellers have taken to gouging consumers seeking to purchase cleaning supplies and other essential products, charging outrageously high prices for these items. Some sellers have even been peddling fake coronavirus cures, customers allege. Consumers have fought back by filing lawsuits against several sellers.

ABC News provides advice to customers looking for products that are effective against hard-to-kill viruses. The news source notes that the EPA has informed customers that products without an EPA registration number have not been reviewed by the EPA.

How are you working to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in your communities? Tell us in the comments below.

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