Wintertime Pandemic Response Update

Since March of 2020, Rosehip Medics and our affiliated network, Portland Action Medics, have bottled and distributed over 37,000 individual bottles of hand sanitizer to communities in need. Last spring, with commercial products not available, we were making our own sanitizer from raw ethanol, xantham gum, and glycerol, and providing it to houseless communities, essential workers, people visiting food pantries, and many other communities.
With the return of hand sanitizer to store shelves, many people are able to access it commercially. However, the most vulnerable populations are still without this basic Covid prevention item. Our current production, bottling gallons of mass-produced liquid sanitizer into individual size spray bottles, allows nonprofit and grassroots outreach groups to provide bottles of hand sanitizer to the vulnerable populations they serve who would otherwise not have access.

In addition to 37,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, our Covid response project, dubbed “The Chemistry Lab” from our days of working with raw alcohol, has also distributed over 600 gallons of Lysol, a hard surface disinfectant. We have used restaurant-grade concentrate to mass produce spray bottles of Lysol for people living outside, people living without clean running water, and people and organizations doing food preparation.

The Chemistry Lab has also distributed over 15,000 kn95 masks. These masks, decertified by FEMA and stored locally, were unable to be used by medical facilities. Our project has received, repackaged, and distributed these masks to thousands of people in need.

Looking to the future, we are hoping to continue distribution of hand sanitizer, Lysol, and masks to those in need. We are also following OHA announcements in the hopes of becoming a community vaccine hub when that phase of vaccine distribution begins.