The coronavirus is an enveloped virus--meaning it has an outer membrane made of oil and fat that [View all]

[iluvtennis]

Eugene Gu, MD@eugenegu
The coronavirus is an enveloped virus—meaning it has an outer membrane made of oil and fat that it steals from our own cells by pinching off a piece of our cell membranes in a process called viral shedding. It allows the virus to evade our immune system but there’s a trade off.

All enveloped viruses like the coronavirus are extremely susceptible to simple soaps and detergents of any kind. That’s because soap literally explodes the outer membranes of these viruses. Without the envelope, they can’t invade our cells or cause any harm. They just simply die.

So while alcohol-based hand sanitizers are effective at killing the coronavirus on our hands, and should be used at every opportunity, nothing can replace the gold standard of washing our hands with good old fashioned soap and water, which also physically removes dirt and debris.

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