Hall of Famer, Others Provide COVID-19 Protection For Drivers

FREEPORT, NY — Like many other essential workers, school bus drivers continually find themselves exposed to the coronavirus pandemic, often unable to remain socially distanced from others around them while going about their daily jobs.

So as COVID-19 cases continue to climb around Long Island and the rest of the country, the makers of Halodine — a medical-grade nasal antiseptic solution designed to help stop the spread of the coronavirus at its source — decided that school transportation employees in Freeport could use an extra level of protection.

As part of Giving Tuesday, representatives of the makers of the product made a nearly $30,000 donation of Halodine products to the Guardian Bus Company’s drivers and mavens who provide transportation services to local school children.

The donation, which was made possible from Halodine representatives, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green, included 600 containers of oral antiseptic spray and 600 six-packs of nasal swab sticks, which will be used by 500 local Guardian employees, and that will collectively provide nearly 800,000 hours of protection to transportation providers.

“Nothing else happens without them,” Dr. Sam Barrone, one of the founding partners of Halodine told Patch on Thursday. “There is no school unless you have bus drivers taking the kids to class. … bus drivers are particularly at risk so those are the type of people we wanted to help.”

Halodine was specifically developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Barrone said, and is essentially like hand sanitizer, but instead, is used around the nose and mouth. The product was developed by doctors and other medical professionals and, when used in conjunction with a mask or other face-covering, not only offers the user protection against airborne particles associated with COVID-19, but also provides an extra layer of security for those around them, Barrone said.

That made bus drivers an ideal recipient for Halodine products as they are exposed to potential COVID-19 conditions for extended periods of time, Barrone said. With many school-aged children asymptomatic, they may not even know they have been exposed to the virus, which puts school transportation workers at even more risk.

The product, which went on sale in July, is now being distributed to medical professionals and others who need protection against the spread of the coronavirus. The fact that bus drivers fall into that category made Tuesday donation to local school transportation workers even more special for Barrone and Green.

“You want to be able to help and you see other people in need – the frontline workers, the essential workers who are putting themselves at risk and putting their families at risk – and so it was very rewarding to actually see the fruits of my labor (helping others) and knowing what I’m doing is actually making a difference and is actually happening someone,” Barrone said.

Green, who spent his entire 20-year NFL career playing in Washington, became involved with the Halodine team after his son attended college with one of the company’s co-partners. Green has been an advocate for healthy living and working to help young people, now serves as the vice president of strategic marketing for Halodine and was part of the presentation Tuesday to Guardian employees in Freeport.

Like Barrone, the two-time Super Bowl champion and former Pro Bowl cornerback who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008, sees school bus drivers as playing an important role as the pandemic continues.

“All transportation employees are essential workers who literally drive our economy. Without them little gets done,” Green said. “But they’re put at particular risk by interacting with many people, in closed spaces, for long periods of time. We are happy to be able to support and help protect those charged with our children’s safety.”