What alcohol percentage (%) is required to kill the coronavirus?

58% or more, but…

Do not fall for the flashy labels promising their hand sanitizer “kills 99.99% of illness causing germs.” While that might be true, it does not mean the product will necessarily protect you against the new coronavirus!

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol when soap and water are not available and you are not able to wash your hands.

Why? Many studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95% are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Hand sanitizers without 60-95% alcohol 1) may not work equally well for many types of germs; and 2) merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright. (Source: CDC)

In light of the coronavirus epidemic, enormous amounts of all sorts of sanitizers are flying off store shelves, including the “alcohol-free” sanitizing products — which are not recommended by the CDC.

Some of the hand sanitizers made by the brands Purell and Germ-X rely on benzalkonium chloride instead of alcohol as the active ingredient. According to CDC, such non-alcohol antiseptic products may not work as well for many types of germs, or may merely reduce the growth of germs rather than killing them. They are still better than nothing, but people are buying them without knowing the difference and use of such sanitizers might give them a false sense of security, which can be more dangerous than actually having infected hands and acting accordingly (not touching your face, other personal objects etc) until you properly clean them with proper soap and water hand wash.

Do not use vodka or whiskey against coronavirus

The shortage of hand sanitizers has led consumers to start brewing their own “cocktails” of alcohol and aloe vera gel. Emily Landon, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine, said that most “homemade Pinterest recipes” she’s seen are no good, as people are using vodka or whiskey as the active ingredient, which do not contain enough alcohol to be effective. The World Health Organization’s guidelines for making hand sanitizers require 96% ethyl alcohol.

Taking its consumer mission to heart, Tito’s Handmade Vodka tweeted a warning to its customers on Thursday that its product didn’t contain enough alcohol to sanitize effectively: “Per the CDC, hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol.” Something that many hand sanitizer companies that do not meet the standards with certain products failed to mention.

Per the CDC, hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito's Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol, and therefore does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC. Please see attached for more information. pic.twitter.com/QNEFOXxYPQ
— TitosVodka (@TitosVodka) March 5, 2020

Source: Center for Disease Control; Emily Landon, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine; additional research

Alcohol-Free hand sanitizers are selling Out, despite not being recommended by the CDC

These alcohol-free sanitizers are selling out, with internet price-gouging going through the roof. By looking at the listings, it can be hard to tell that they are different from the kind the Center for Disease Control recommends.

Purell Hand Sanitizing Wipes for instance have jumped in price on Amazon.com from $11.88 in January to $79.99 on March 4th afternoon before jumping to $199.99 the same day later in the evening, according to the price tracker Keepa.com. They are currently sold out.

The front of the package does not mention that it is alcohol-free; the back includes small print that lists benzalkonium chloride as the active ingredient and the label “alcohol-free formula.” Nowhere on the Amazon product listing did it mention it was alcohol-free.

Germ-X Alcohol-Free Foaming Hand Sanitizer is also sold out on Amazon, with prices surging from $10 in mid-January to $49.95 last Friday, according to Keepa.com.

Amazon officials have since said they are monitoring listings for price gouging, blocking or removing those they suspect of it. Ebay announced that it was banning listings for hand sanitizers, masks and disinfecting wipes, and that it will “quickly remove” listings other than books that mention coronavirus or COVID-19, the disease it causes.

If you type in “coronavirus hand sanitizer” on Amazon, the results still include hand sanitizers made by different companies that don’t contain alcohol.

At a time when all hand sanitizers are in short supply, the benzalkonium chloride products are better than nothing, said Emily Landon, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine. She said the CDC recommendation for hand sanitizers is based on the fact that 60% alcohol kills “all of the coronaviruses we know about.” A sanitizer with benzalkonium chloride as the active ingredient is “not as good,” because we don’t know as much about it, she said. As a physician, mother and infection-control expert, she called alcohol-based products her “first choice” for hand sanitizers.

Customers seem to be confused as to what they are actually buying. One gave Purell’s alcohol-free, benzalkonium chloride-based hand wipes five stars, writing: “Honestly these wipes were a life saver. Due to the corona virus and me traveling to Vietnam, I bought a pack… I used these on flights, utensils before eating and seats before sitting. It gave me [a feeling] of safety…”

And it is exactly this false feeling of safety that is where the real danger lies when it comes to hand sanitizers that do not meet the CDC requirements. People using them might become more relaxed and less cautious as to how they behave, thinking their hands are entirely germ free, and get infected as a result.

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