The promise of far-UVC light for killing the COVID-19 virus

Since early March of this year I’ve been intrigued with the idea of some band or frequency of light being effective in killing the virus. This morning I spent some time doing research on far-uvc. Here are some of the top things I found:

• • Ultra-violet light has been known for many years to be effective at killing virus, bacteria, etc. However, ultra-violet light is also harmful to humans as a carcinogen for our skin and also causes harm to eyes. Hospitals, etc currently used ultra-violet light for disinfecting operating rooms, etc. It’s known to be very effective.
  • Far-uvc light is very effective at killing COVID-19 virus – along with lots of other virus, bacteria and pathogens, but far-uvc light – at 222 nanometers – does not penetrate the layer of dead skin cells and is believed to be safe for humans. But it is still lethal to viruses.
  • Columbia University is doing an extended 60 week test of far-uvc light on hairless mice. At least weekly they check the mice for damage to skin and eyes. After 38 weeks it still appears to be safe for the mice.
  • Far-uvc light has not been FDA approved yet. But tests, etc – which have been going on for several years – is very promising. The hope is that within a couple or several months that far-uvc will be FDA-certified and products can sold commercially.
  • Some companies are already ramping up production capabilities.

Here are some of the articles and videos I read/watched this morning.

• • Recent article in the NY Times about it:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/07/science/ultraviolet-light-coronavirus.html
  • An article today about the efficacy of far-uvc light: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-uvc-lamps-virus.html
  • Article from Columbia University who has been researching far-uvc light for several years and appears to be leading the research efforts https://news.columbia.edu/ultraviolet-technology-virus-covid-19-UV-light
  • Article and TED Talk 2017 by David Brenner from Columbia University http://www.columbia.edu/~djb3/Far%20UVC.html
  • Similar but updated talk at the COVID-19 Virtual Conference – April 8, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iJuSNI3Y98