In the midst of the COVID pandemic, with her husband's immune system compromised, one Australian scientist was forced to create her own household disinfectant that kills the disease.
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NSW Southern Highland scientist, Sophie Westlake and her husband Steve have had a trying past year.
He had the removal of several lymph nodes in his chest which in turn left him with a compromised immune system for life.
Just last year the 53-year-old was in hospital nine times with infection and almost died.
Fearing the worst for her husband, Sophie waited for a big company to create a cleaning product that gave an added defence against COVID.
None did, so she used her science background to create one herself, and that is how Virosol+ was born.
When the pandemic hit, it was a very nerve wracking time for the family.
"The month of March and early April in 2020, I was ringing around to as many manufactures as possible," Ms Westlake said.
"None of them had a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved product. That's when NSW had just gone into lockdown. The kids were home and I said to my husband 'I want to make sure you're all safe'.
"We didn't have a complete understanding of the pandemic. We weren't sure if we would be able to get on top of it early, how serious the virus was and the serious ramifications of the virus.
"It was paramount to me to keep my children safe and in particular my husband.
"With him and anyone who has a compromised immune system, a common cold can send them to hospital.
"It was a really good incentive to roll up our sleeves and get to work ourselves."
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Working tirelessly, Sophie got to work to create a product to ensure her family's safety. After a few months of hard work, there was a breakthrough.
"It was so exciting when we finally got approval from the TGA," Ms Westlake said.
"The kids and my parents who are in their 80s were jumping up and down in the kitchen with excitement.
"It's not something we really planned to do. You would expect scientists in lab coats working with multimillion dollar companies to be doing. Not a mum and dad effectively from their kitchen during lockdown.
"It was really exciting. The whole process took around four to six months."
Despite disinfectants flooding the market amid COVID, Sophie's Virosol+ is only one of two with TGA approval on the market that is proven to kill COVID-19.
When the product was released online, within the first six hours it sold 8,000 bottles.
It has made more than $54,000 so far, and sales are continuing to grow.
"When the product sold 8,000 units in six hours, it was exciting, but also overwhelming," Ms Westlake said.
"Creating a disinfectant that kills COVID we received a certification from the Australian made campaign.
"It is Australian made and owned, including the bottles. Most companies do rely on China to provide their bottles. We were adamant from the start not to be reliant on export.
"At that time exports were severely interrupted by the pandemic and we didn't want our product to be jeopardised in any way.
"It was a very exciting, but also a scary time."
For Southern Highland residents interested in purchasing Virosol+ it is available at:
- Mitre 10: Moss Vale and Mittagong
- Moss Vale IGA
- Capital Chemist in Bowral
"The product is specifically designed to give another line of defence," Ms Westlake said.
"Also continue to social distance, wash your hands regularly and now with the roll out of the vaccine, all of these are prongs for us to get on top of the pandemic."
