In March, a Midwestern doctor made a video about disinfecting his groceries which eventually went viral. Laura Bennett, Slate’s editorial director, caught up with Dr. VanWingen in a Q&A to see how he felt about it now. In the video, the doctor separated his groceries on the countertop into a “clean side” and “dirty side,” wiping down chicken broth cartons and dipping his vegetables into a soap bath. That’s not how Covid spreads, as it turns out, but Dr. VanWingen felt that information regarding surface transmission was unclear at the time. His teenage son came up with the idea to make a video, but neither of them expected it to show up on NBC Nightly News and reach over 26 million views on YouTube. Today, VanWingen still takes precautions when getting takeout and may briefly wipe down a grocery item, but no more soap baths for the veggies.
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