Swine flu leading to Purell shortage
The swine flu outbreak has caused such a demand for hand sanitizers that the makers and distributors of Purell are warning individual consumers and large users such as hospitals that limited supplies of Purell may be available across the country.The company that invented Purell, Gojo Industries Inc. of Akron, Ohio, is asking its customers not to hoard the product. The need will be met with increased production, wrote Mark Lerner, president and chief operating officer at Gojo, on the company's Web site.
"In fact, stockpiling could cause an actual shortage which, in turn, could threaten public health," Lerner wrote.
Hand sanitizers are fast becoming the go-to item in the fight against being infected by the H1N1 virus. Small dispensers of the gel can be found almost everywhere. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends washing hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing, and using alcohol-based hand cleaners such as Purell and other products.
It's a $117 million market. Sales jumped 50% in August from the same month in 2008.
Johnson & Johnson, which puts Purell in grocery stores and other retail outlets, is having the same problem as Gojo.
"Due to the influenza A (H1N1) virus outbreak this past spring and resurgence this fall, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. has experienced heavy demand on supplies of Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer," Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Jaimie Peltzman wrote me in an e-mail.
"We acknowledge that, because of this increase in demand, consumers may currently find limited supplies of Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer at certain retailers," Peltzman wrote. "Our top priority is public health and we are committed to working wtih our suppliers to attempt increase production of Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer to ensure that sufficient quantities are available to meet consumer demand during the remainder of 2009 and in 2010."
That's for retail markets. A similar shortage is happening for Gojo, which makes Purell for professional markets such as hospitals, school districts, office buildings and other large buyers.
Gojo has tripled production, and still can't keep up with demand, leading it to increase hiring on its Web site.
Gojo doesn't expect shortages of Purell this fall and winter, but spokeswoman Angelina Watkins said that some professional market customers may get late orders or different-size bottles than what they ordered.
"Despite making huge investments to increase our capacity -- running our plants 24/7 and increasing our staff -- we are unable to keep up with the unprecedented demand," Gojo president Lerner wrote. "Even with increased manufacturing capacity, there is a limit to how much we can produce in a short period of time."
Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reach him at www.AaronCrowe.net
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-15-2009 @ 9:41PM
Awesome said...
That kinda sucks cuz I love Purell!!! I use it all the time and it smells really good, too! lol
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10-15-2009 @ 9:50PM
marshall said...
Just buy a regular bottle of liquid alcohol.
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10-15-2009 @ 9:54PM
marshall said...
This is just an excuse for Purell to raise the price. There is no shortage of alcohol or glycerin
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10-15-2009 @ 10:09PM
Ty said...
personally I don't touch the stuff...and I maybe get sick once a year. I think it's important to wash your hands but that using those sanitizers are over kill. Some of the most sickly people I know use that crap. I'm convinced it's because they don't build up immunities and it's harder for them to fend off things.
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10-20-2009 @ 12:30PM
Sammy said...
I agree with you Ty, so many people today are so afraid they will get a germ, they go overboard with the hand washing and other methods of trying to stay well. People have forgotten the old adage "what doesn't kill makes you stronger." It is as true of illness as it is about anything else. Get the germs, build up an immunity to them and your life will be better.
10-20-2009 @ 6:27PM
susan said...
I agree as well..Need to be exposed to germs to build up antibodies...Keep sanitizing yourself and you will catch everything out there...
10-18-2009 @ 10:10AM
Linja said...
These sanitizers kill bacteria but not viruses and will NOT prevent the flu. They may help a little by removing debris from your skin but do not count on them to prevent flu. Wash your hands often with soap and water instead.
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10-15-2009 @ 11:22PM
Irene said...
Hand sanitizers weird me out. I still feel like the germs are still on me!!!
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10-15-2009 @ 11:29PM
Jilly said...
Of course, while handwashing never hurts, the virus is also transmitted through the air. Purell won't impact that!
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10-16-2009 @ 1:02AM
Sharon said...
Does anyone else find it strange that all of a sudden, (when we really have a need for a certain product,) there is a shortage of that particular product? Prilocic was the first one that I can remember, but I am sure there are many more. I tnd to agree with one of the other contributors here, it is just another excuse for the makers to up the price of the product. In my case, I plan to make my own hand sanitizer, using rubbing alcohol and glycerin amd keep it with me at all times. Keeping bottles in the bathrooms, kitchen,car and purse. Don't let these companies bully you into anything. They just want our $$$'s. I,for one, am not going tol et them have it.
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10-16-2009 @ 1:32AM
Jessica said...
Sharon, here's a basic economic lesson:
When we have a need for products, we buy the products. This creates an increase in DEMAND. More people are buying products and so there is a rise in product consumption. Unless the business has predicted the rise in DEMAND, there will then be a shortage. In our market, when DEMAND is up SUPPLY tends to be down (unless it was predicted)...this naturally causes (in our market) prices to increase. Thats just how it works here. They don't suddenly decide, "Oh hey! People are buying are stuff lets raise the prices to stick it to the plebs!"
Also, in response to marshall:
As they explained in the article, this has more to do with production than base materials. You are correct, there is no shortage in alcohol and glycerin. HOWEVER, the production plants can only produce so much product in a given time. As was quoted in the article, "'Even with increased manufacturing capacity, there is a limit to how much we can produce in a short period of time.'"
The shortages and delays are a product of increased demand and limited capacity of production of the final product.
Saying that there is a shortage of Purell, is NOT the same as saying that there is a shortage of the base materials.
In conclusion, lets try thinking about how things work before we point our fingers at the "big bad companies" for "raising prices." This isn't to say that some companies will take advantage of market trends...but people are too quick to complain now-a-days. Don't hate on the businesses that are providing jobs and quality products, its self-defeating.
10-16-2009 @ 1:49AM
SWEEZEL BOOMS said...
YOU REMEMBER ABOUT TEN YRS AGO, DATELINE CAME OUT WITH A STORY ABOUT ST JOHNS WART AND HOW IT ACTED LIKE VALIUM. YOU COULDN'T FIND SJW ANYWHERE, SHELVES WERE BARE. ONE OF THE BIG HOAX'S
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10-16-2009 @ 2:09AM
Tim said...
For all the geniuses out there who think that hand sanitizer will prevent them from contracting the flu: H1N1 is a virus, while these hand sanitizers are anti-bacterial. They kill most bacteria, but can't do anything for a virus; essentially you are just moving the germs around on your hands. Fortunately for the companies that make these products, even most health professionals seem not to be intelligent enough to realize this simple fact and are encouraging people to use them. Good luck killing a virus with a product that promises no such thing. Ignore the paranoia!
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10-20-2009 @ 3:05AM
Shawn said...
Lol, do people even know that Purell doesn't even affect swine flu? And test have found that vigorously washing your hands in soap and water prove more effective than using hand sanitizers anyway.
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10-20-2009 @ 12:49PM
Joe said...
it's not a shortage of ingredients. it's the demand for the bottles & lotion pumps. i work in the packaging industry and the lead-times for pumps alone is at an all time high of approx. 30+ weeks with some manufacturers. Please do your research before you slam these companies that have a valid issue.
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10-20-2009 @ 2:29PM
j said...
Seriously? There are hundreds of other companies out there that sell hand sanitizer -- higher quality product, less expensive -- and are fully stocked. What an interesting publicity announcement, eh?
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10-20-2009 @ 5:28PM
Rhett said...
Walmart has the same stuff - it's called Germ X
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10-20-2009 @ 8:03PM
Albert said...
Wash your hands with regular soap and warm to hot water. Boraxo a soft soap with borax is a germ killer and its cheap and a
natural product.
Wash your hands, use a handkerchief to contain your sneezes, cough away from other people an go home if your sick don't hang around like typhoid Mary and give the infection to all the others near you.
Get your flu shot and get the H1N1 sht when it's available. Avoid sick folks, wash after handling coins and paper money.
Remain calm and pay no attention to the swine behind the curtain.
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10-20-2009 @ 8:07PM
zsuzsa said...
Never used the stuff. Just soap and water and I can't remember the last time I even had a cold.
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10-20-2009 @ 8:30PM
iren said...
you are right ya soap and warm water thats better than handsanitser