People have finally stopped panic-buying Clorox as pandemic fears wane

As it turns out, we never really needed Clorox to fight covid-19. The virus doesn’t spread easily via contaminated surfaces, so theatrically wiping down desks and doorknobs with bleach did little to contain contagion (and misguided attempts to fight the virus by drinking bleach were outright harmful).

But even so, Clorox sales have become a good proxy for the public’s level of pandemic worry, especially in the US, the company’s largest market. As covid case counts rose, so did sales reported under Clorox’s “health and wellness” category, which includes cleaning supplies such as bleach wipes; industrial-grade liquid bleach to disinfect hospitals, offices and stores; and a handful of vitamins and dietary supplements.

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