When former president Trump admitted to Bob Woodward in September that he had long-known that Covid-19 was airborne, and that hand sanitizer was not the most effective tool against the deadly virus, it raised some serious questions in the Fred’s University Dean’s office.
Did Dean Darlingdeal, a long-time Trump cronie and advisor, also know that masks, not sanitizer, were most important in the fight against the virus? Did Dean Darlingdeal know that excessive sanitizer was unnecessary when he signed a massive contract for hand sanitizer with his own family cleaning supply business? How large was his kickback for the contract, quite apart from the company profits in which he shares?
The push for hand sanitizer was particularly strong at Fred’s University: each and every student and staff member at FU received a case of mini sanitizer bottles, a case of gallon hand sanitizer bottles, and a daily full-body shower of sanitizer. Meals were served from sealed plastic bags floating in a large tank of sanitizer. Temporary car washes were set up at each campus gate to spray all incoming vehicles with sanitizer. The pointless precautions of this hygiene theater came at a significant cost to FU and meant useful measures like ventilation and proper masking were not enacted.
Although excessive exposure to hand sanitizer can be dangerous for all, it particularly impacts the low-wage workers who use it in large quantities.
Currently, Dean Darlingdeal is looking to donate leftover hand sanitizer to local charities and is in negotiation about whether the resulting tax break will go to his family company or to the university.