Germ-resistant copper phone case created in Nashville now in hands of health care workers

Recent Vanderbilt University graduates who made a germ-resistant phone case after contracting COVID-19 have now sold 1,000 cases. They are donating as many cases to health care workers.

"Now that they have them in their hands, just the positive response we have been getting is just something that we weren't fully expecting," said Nick O'Brien.

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After contracting the novel coronavirus, Nick O'Brien, Isaac Lichter, and Andrew Medland founded Aeris and created their first product, a copper-coated phone case.

"Copper is very effective at continuously killing germs, a whole variety of microbes including the novel coronavirus," said Isaac Lichter.

In a matter of months, the entrepreneurs who graduated from Vanderbilt, moved to San Diego and are now producing their product on an industrial scale. They are able to fill orders as soon as they come in and make good on their promise to donate a case to a healthcare worker for each one purchased.

On Friday, Aeris donated phone cases to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"I am very excited to see what these 250 healthcare workers have to say," said Lichter.

Next, the company plans to donate cases to hospitals in their hometowns, including New York City and San Diego.

Aeris is working on new designs that incorporate copper.

"We see the future as copper-covered," said Lichter. "We knew we didn't want to be a phone case company. We see the real value in this."

WTVF's Hannah McDonald first reported this story.